


Empowered

by Kiribiri



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: . . . maybe., Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst, EVERYONE - Freeform, Established Relationship, Everyone is on a deserted island, Fluff, Found Family, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I had way to much fun making the powers, I'll warn you a ahead of time, M/M, Manga Spoilers, Nothing serious, Oikawa Tooru Likes Aliens, Oikawa blames it on aliens, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Alternating, Shenanigans, Sleepovers?, Team as Family, couples, e v e r y o n e - Freeform, everyone. . . everyone gets powers(looks away suspiciously), i guess?, iwa-chan loves his power for reasons, lots and lots of couples, minor character injury, or are they?, seriously, some of this is funny I promise, team bonding!, well some of them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-30
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2019-02-08 16:39:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 21,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12868659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiribiri/pseuds/Kiribiri
Summary: When everyone suddenly wakes on an island having no idea how they all got there, they have to work together-( Yes, Oikawa, you have to work with Ushijima. Suck it up.)-to escape and return back home.Can they figure out the secret of why they are there and why, all of the sudden, one of them can fly. .  .and why another can breath underwater. . . and another can phase through walls. . .. . .What the hell is going on!?. . .. . .. . . "Wait! Why am I the only one that doesn't get a power!"





	1. Chapter 1

It seemed, at that moment, opening his eyes was a difficult task for Sugawara Koushi. He knew he had to, he was awake after all but his eyelids were heavy, too heavy for it to be normal. Even though he couldn’t see, Suga could move his fingers, clenching and unclenching them. He could dig his fingers in what he assumed was dirt or maybe even sand as it was oddly. . . smooth? Grainy? Suga couldn’t come up with the right words, his brain muddled as if in a dense fog. His toes could feel the sand too and now he knew that for some reason he wasn’t wearing shoes. The ground was digging into his back and he noted numbly that his legs were cold, he must be wearing shorts, or maybe even just his boxers. . .

  
And through all of these thoughts, he still couldn't open his eyes.

  
Deciding to rely more on his other senses, for now, he turned to hearing out his surroundings. Near him was the soft crashing sound of waves hitting the sand, and he could smell the salt of the water. The corner of his eyes started to burn.

  
The ocean.

  
Was he near an ocean?

  
Where was he? Wasn’t he just heading to volleyball practice?

  
His memories were hazy but he could remember walking with Daichi, who was telling a joke that Suga would admit now wasn't that funny. He remembered seeing Hinata and Kageyama arguing near the net(maybe over a toss?), Asahi looking at the scene, his face showing that he really didn’t know what to do. Not too far away Tanaka and Nishinoya were gushing over Shimizu, who was blatantly ignoring them, as she walked away with a slightly skittish Yachi. Ennoshita sighing with Narita and Kinoshita behind him, Yamaguchi and Tsukishima talking in the corner, Coach Ukai thinking with a hand on his chin. All normal everyday things.

  
Well, Suga revised, normal for his team anyway.

  
Lying there for a bit more Suga tried again, blinking his eyes only to close them quickly as the sun overhead shined on them. He opened them slower, tilting his head to the side slightly to avoid the bright light. After a couple seconds Suga got rid of the annoying blue residue clouding his vision. Sitting up, one hand clutching his stomach and the other on his head, he looked around him.

  
He was rightfully confused by his surroundings.

  
How?

  
Why?

  
Where?

  
These were the first questions to pop into his head as he stared on. Suga was in a clearing, more of a path or trail if he was being honest, one opening facing what Suga had correctly guessed was the ocean, the water lapping at the white sand generously. In and out. In and out. It was relaxing, Suga thought, as he turned his head to the left. On the other side was a large open space that lead to a trail going further inland, entrance surrounded by trees. It had to be man-made as there were wooden handrails lining the edges and Suga could even make out a bench up the path a ways.

  
Taking it all in slowly, his head still fuzzy, he looked down at himself discovering, thankfully, that he wasn’t wearing his boxers but the volleyball shorts he used that day for practice. His white shirt was crumpled and dirty, sticking to his skin. His arms and legs had small scratches and bruises. Possibly from lying on the ground or. . . maybe a struggle? It was hard to say really, considering Suga had no idea how he even got here in the first place.

  
On the ground a few feet away from him were his school bag and volleyball jacket. Suga reached out and pulled them closer, leaving a trail in the dirt. Grasping the jacket, Suga shook off the sand that had collected on the black fabric and put it on, glad for the warmth it provided. Turning back to his bag he zipped it open to find that it didn’t have his school work in it. Instead, it had a change of clothes (still no shoes. . . ), a couple of energy bars, two bottles of water, and a few books he was reading in his spare time.

  
No phone in sight.

  
_Well, there goes that plan,_ Suga thought, the hope to check the GPS or call someone for help, dashed with the revelation.

  
_Still. . . none of these were in my bag last time I checked. How did they get there?_ Suga shook his head slightly, _I shouldn’t be asking that. The more important question is why am_ I _here?_

  
“What’s going on?”

  
There was no reply.

  
Sighing, Suga dug through the contents of his bag and took out the socks that came with the change of clothes. Just your every day, completely average, white ankle length socks. Figuring it was better than nothing he slid them onto his bare feet. Once they were secure he zipped up his bag and got clumsily to his feet, slinging the bag over his shoulder, it hitting his side with a dull ‘thump’.

  
 _I’m not gonna figure anything out if I stay here,_ Suga thought as he started making his way up the man-made path, leaving the ocean behind. Now, Suga was responsible and knew in situations when you're lost you supposed to stay put but Suga figured that he, _technically_ , wasn’t lost yet.

  
“. . .”

  
_I guess my team’s rubbing off on me,_ Suga thought, bringing his hand up to his face in silent exasperation.

  
Gliding his fingers along the handrail as he walked Suga noted that he was surrounded on all sides by trees, he wasn’t sure if recognized any of them, which wasn’t very helpful. The path was uneven and roots were growing across it as if having the malicious intent to trip travelers. His socks were having little effect protecting his feet and before long they started to ache from rubbing on the ground. It wasn’t painful yet but Suga knew if he kept at this for a long, it would be.

  
After a while Suga stopped, having come to a fork in the path.

  
Left or right?

  
Suga couldn’t decide. Debating with himself he saw that the paths looked the same. Same trees. Same dirt. Same handrails. Same bench down the path. Same stupid roots that have tripped him more times than he can count. There wasn’t even a sign to point him in the right direction.

  
_Great._

  
Taking a breath, Suga continued, taking the left path on impulse. The wind wasn’t as intense as it was when he was next to the ocean, just a light breeze that flicked his hair gently. The air still smelled of salt but Suga didn’t mind it if anything it was a nice change. Suga wondered what time it was, it couldn’t have been too late in the afternoon as the sun was high in the sky but it was hard to tell with nothing to check the time with.

  
Suga winced, the ache in his feet was becoming painful. Looking up Suga was relieved to see a bench up ahead. Collapsing gratefully onto it, Suga pulled one of his feet up towards him, rubbing it gently.

  
_Ow._

  
Letting his foot drop Suga leaned back and sighed. Tilting his head back he closed his eyes, just breathing in the fresh air around him.

  
Just . . . breathing.

  
“Oh, I remember you!”

  
”Ah!”

  
Suga’s head flew upright, startled, his eyes growing wide. He stood up fast, almost falling with the effort, flinging his head from side to side. Spinning a circle a couple times; Suga didn’t see who had just spoken to him.

  
“Pfft, look above you.”

  
Doing as the disembodied voice advised, Sugawara looked up. Above him was a boy around his age. He was hanging upside-down, legs tangled up in what Suga realized was cords attached to a parachute, the fabric lodging itself in the branches of the tree.The vest to secure him to the chute was undone but he was so tangled up that it didn’t do anything to help his situation. His arms were hanging down as if the boy had long since given up trying to free himself. He was wearing a plain white T-shirt, which had fallen down to show his abdomen because of his orientation, and purple shorts. His red hair didn’t look any different upside down, as it always seemed to defy gravity. He blinked his downturned eyes, giving off the impression that he was sleepy.

  
Suga gaped, "Wha. . . “

  
The boy tilted his head but didn’t say anything, his red eyes staring at the one below him.

  
Blinking rapidly, Suga’s brain caught up with itself and he exclaimed, “You’re T-Tendou! From Shiratorizawa!”

  
Tendou pursed his lips slightly, “Hmm, the one and only.”

  
“What are you doing here!” Suga yelled,” What is going on!”

  
“I could say the same to you,” Tendou said crossing his arms and sticking out his lip childishly,” but I would rather get down from here first. My legs are going numb.”

  
“Oh! I’m sorry, I’ll help you down! Just give me a second!” Suga ran up to the tree that Tendou was stuck in and started to climb.

  
“One. Time’s up,” Tendou said as he watched Suga struggle to get up the tree, uncrossing his arms and letting them hang down once again.

  
Suga huffed,“Very funny.”

  
It was hard going, the lack of shoes hindering his progress. The branches were digging into his feet making Suga wince in pain.The branches were also far apart so he had to stretch to reach the next one, but Suga was grateful that none of them snapped. Finally, Sugawara reached the top, balancing his body weight as not to fall,” I’m going to lower you down slowly, alright?”

  
“Go ahead, beauty mark.”

  
Deciding not to say anything to the ‘beauty mark’ comment Suga gently untangled the cords from the branches, giving him some slack to work with. Once he was satisfied he slowly let the cords slip through his fingers, lowering the redhead inch by inch down to the ground. Tendou stretched out his arms to brace himself and eventually he was able to touch the dirt path. Pushing with his hands while Suga continued to lower him, he angled his body so that he was lying down on his back. Once he was completely down he gave Suga a piece sigh,” Good job, Crow.”

  
Tendou sat up and threw away the vest still on his shoulders before reaching out to undo the cords around his legs. Once Suga was on the ground he came over to help him as he wasn’t having much luck getting untangled. After a minute or two Tendou was able to wiggle himself out, kicking the cords away once he was done.

  
“Phew! I thought I was going to be stuck like that forever!” Tendou said as he stood up placing his hands on his hips, laughing.

  
“How did you end up like that anyway?” Suga asked sitting down on the bench to check on his feet again.

  
_Ow, this sucks._

  
“Hmm, I don’t know really. I just woke up like that,” Tendou said taking a seat next to Sugawara,”I opened my eyes to realize I was up in the air and upside down. It’s was a surprising thing to wake up to.”

  
“Yeah, that would be,” Suga agreed, pulling off his socks, grimacing. His feet were now covered in small cuts, some of them bleeding slightly. Great.

  
Tendou leaned in closer to take in the damaged foot, "What happened to your shoes?”

  
Suga laughed slightly, reaching into his bag,”’I don’t know really. I just woke up like that.’ That pretty much sums up everything that happened to me today.”

  
Tendou hummed, leaning back,” What do you think's going on? Do you think we're in, like, a _Btooom!_ kind of situation? That would suck.”

  
Suga raised an eyebrow as he looked for anything to help with his feet,”’Btooom?’”

  
Tendou glanced at him before looking away,” It’s a manga series where people are trapped on an island and are forced to kill each other using different types of bombs. It’s pretty fucked up.”

  
Sugawara’s eyes widened in alarm,” You think we’re in that type of situation!? Oh God, what if we are!”

  
Tendou turned to him his eyes softening just the tiniest bit at the terrified look on Suga’s face,” I don’t know if we are but something definitely happened to us. We can’t rule out anything as long as we don’t know what’s going on. But if it makes you feel any better if we were in something like _Btooom!_ they would have given us something to start with right? You know, like a weapon or something. Plus I doubt that what happened is as messed up as that. This is real life, not fiction.”

  
Suga looked at Tendou for a long while as he calmed his breathing. Taking a long breath he went back to looking in his bag,” Yeah. Yeah, you right. It’s probably a prank or something.”

  
Tendou smirked, leaping up from his seat,” Right!”

  
“You have way too much energy,” Suga said jokingly as he decided to grab one of the bottles of water, opening it. He poured it slowly on one of his feet. It helped a little. He put the sock back on then did the same thing with the other foot.

  
“What should we do now?” Tendou asked as he watched Suga work.

  
“I was just going to follow that path and see where it took me. That’s all I have at the moment,” Suga shrugged,” You got any ideas?”

  
Tendou scrunched up his nose slightly,” Not really.”

  
“Well, you welcome to join me. If you want.”

  
Tendou shrugged,” Not like I have anything better to do. I’ll go with you, I guess.”

  
“Okay,” Suga put his half used bottle back in his bag.

  
“You ready?” Tendou asked after a moment, turning his head way too far to the side. Suga had seen him do that before. Suga pushed himself up, zipping his bag closed. He slung it over his shoulder.

  
“Yeah.”

  
The odd duo continued down the path, leaving the forgotten parachute behind. The wind started to pick up a little and it blew at the dirt of the path sending it up into the air. Suga was walking slower than he did before but Tendou was generous enough to match his pace and not leave him in the dust. Literally. They were silent for a long time before it seemed that Tendou couldn’t handle it,” So how's that short number ten doing? You know, the one that can jump really high?”

  
Suga blinked, thinking about the question for a second,” Oh, you mean Hinata. Last time I checked he was fine. Still needs to work on his receives though.”

  
“Hmm.”

  
Another long awkward silence, the only sounds were the wind and the scuffing of Tendou’s shoes in the dirt as he walked. Suga, who can almost taste the awkwardness on his tongue, decided to try to spark up another conversation with the Guess Monster.

  
“So. . . how has your team been?”

  
Tendou gave him a side eye,” Not doing much since you beat us.”

  
Suga grimaced,”Uh. . .What about you! Anything interesting happen to you lately?”

  
Tendou gave him a look and just motioned to himself, the path, Suga, then around in a circle to indicate his overall surroundings.

  
“Okay, dumb question,” Suga admitted,” I meant like College entrance exams or a girlfriend. Something like that.”

  
Tendou made a movement as if to put his hands in his pockets only to realize his shorts didn’t have any. He flopped them at his sides instead. He leaned in close to Suga’s face,” Don’t you think that’s a little personal, beauty mark?”

  
“You can call me Suga. And I’m sorry if I was intruding,” Suga said bowing his head in apology, “Just trying to make conversation.”

  
Tendou leaned back with his lips pursed, crossing his arms in an almost condescending way,” What about you? You dating anybody?”

  
Sugawara blushed,” No.”

  
“ _Huuhhh?_ ” Tendou smirked leaning in closer causing Suga look away in embarrassment,” Really?”

  
“Yes, really.”

  
Tendou eyed him for a long time and Suga felt like he was digging into his brain, searching for all of his secrets. It was unsettling.

  
Tendou finally looked away only to laugh,” Ha ha. Well then, little Suga-chan has a crush!”

  
“What!?”

  
Tendou smirked,” Who is it? A girl in your class? A boy? I won’t judge.”

  
“D-Didn’t you just say that I was being too personal!” Suga said flustered.

  
Tendou took a few quick steps so he was in front of Suga. He then placed his hands on his back and leaned until he was facing Suga with his face upside down,”Oh, oh? Not denying it?”

  
“What! No! Wait, that isn’t the point!” Suga blushed red,”You're being way too personal! I don’t have to tell you about my love life!”

  
Tendou righted himself, chuckling,”Kidding, kidding.”

  
Suga sighed,” You-”

  
“How ‘bout this,” Tendou interrupted, “I’ll tell you who I’m dating and you’ll tell me who you have a crush on? Deal?”

  
“So you are dating someone,” Suga observed, trying to direct the conversation.

  
Tendou made a signal as if he was zipping his mouth shut and Suga sighed. He wasn’t going to have much say in this, was he? On one hand, their conversation was pushing the boundaries, they weren't even friends, just acquaintances. But on the other hand: did it really matter? It might be embarrassing, sure, but Tendou would indulge first lessening the burden. Also, they didn’t know when they would see another person or how long they would be together and they were actually talking instead of that awful silence.

  
Suga felt like being reckless.

  
What did he have to lose?

  
“Fine,” Suga consented after a long moment.

  
“Ushijima Wakatoshi.”

  
Suga stopped walking and blinked up at Tendou, he must have heard him wrong,” What?”

  
“Ushijima Wakatoshi. Is the person I’m dating,” Tendou walked further ahead. Speeding up to match his pace Suga stared at him, analyzing his face to see if he was messing with him.

  
Tendou just blinked sleepily at him and let the information sink in.

  
“What! You dating Ushijima Wakatoshi.The Ushijima Wakatoshi? Are we talking about the same person here? Your captain?”

  
“Yep, Waka-chan is my boyfriend,” Tendou eyed him,” What? Thought it would be someone else? A girl? Not everyone swings that way, you know.”

  
Suga waved his hands around, trying to defuse the situation,” No! There’s nothing wrong with you dating him! I’m just surprised that it was Ushiwaka- I mean Ushijima. You guys just seem so different is all. I wouldn’t have guessed that you guys would get together.”

  
Tendou’s smile reached his eyes as he chuckled,” Waka-chan is tame compared to me but I still love him. He accepts me for who I am and he is actually really fun to hang out with once you get past his lack of social skills.”

  
Taking in Tendou’s expression Suga could see that Tendou really did love Ushijima. It just couldn’t have been a joke on the other’s part. Tendou was serious and Suga found it sweet. Suga smiled wide as he said truthfully,” Well, I’m happy for you guys.”

  
Tendou hummed.

  
They were both silent for a minute or two, both lost in thought. During Tendou’s confession, the path had gone from dirt to asphalt. There was still roots growing under it, pushing the ground up, but it was less likely for them to trip now. Suga was grateful to get rid of the tripping hazard but it was a double-edged sword. The hardened surface irritated his feet making it almost too painful to walk.

  
_Just a little more. We have to be close to_ something _._

  
Tendou suddenly coughed and turned to him,” So you going to tell me who you have a crush on or what?”

  
Suga almost choked on his spit.

  
“I said who I was dating after all,” Tendou’s smile was vicious,” Now you have to hold up to your end of the deal.”

  
_He’s having way too much fun with this!_

  
“Uh. . .well. . .”

  
Tendou leaned closer, smirking,” Hmmm?”

  
Suga regretted agreeing to this.

  
Tendou had a skip in his step,” Is it someone I know? Is it someone on your team?”

  
Suga stayed silent as Tendou continued,” It is, isn’t it? From the face you're making that must be the case. Let’s see. . . it can’t be that number ten or that crazy other setter of yours. There’s way too much sexual tension between those guys-”

  
Suga spit out his metaphorical drink.

  
“-so those two are out,” Tendou didn’t skip a beat,” Hmm. Going through the other options it has to be that tall ace of yours or your captain. I can’t see you liking anyone else.”

  
Tendou looked down his nose at him,”So Suga . . . _which is it?_ ”

  
Sugawara’s eyes widened and he blurted,”Daichi! It’s Daichi!”

  
_This sucks!_

  
Tendou blinked,“Daichi? Which one is that?”

  
Suga stopped walking, putting his head in his hands,” It’s our captain. Sawamura. . . Daichi.”

  
“Oh ho! On a first name basis. That’s cute.”

  
Suga started to walk again at a much faster pace,” Can we just change the subject!”

  
Tendou caught up to him quickly,” Oh is the little crow embarrassed? Don’t be, Suga. I’m pretty sure you got nothing to worry about.”

  
“What do you mean?”

  
Tendou chuckled,” Nothing, It’s nothing.”

  
Sugawara eyed him suspiciously before his intense stare broke when pain shot up his foot,” Ow!”

  
Tendou’s face almost looked worried,” Oh yeah, your feet, I almost forgot about that. Must suck.”

  
Suga’s face pinched. He lowered himself to the ground and groaned. Tendou looked at him for a moment and pursed out his lips. Suddenly he crouched down in front of Suga, his back facing him.

  
“What are you doing?” Suga asked, perplexed by other’s sudden action.

  
Tendou huffed,” What does it look like. I can’t have you moaning the whole time. Get on my back.”

  
“You mean-”

  
“Just do it before I change my mind.”

  
Suga smiled and climbed onto Tendou’s back, the redhead hosting him into the air. Soon Suga had adjusted into a more comfortable position and Tendou got a steady grip,”Thank you, Tendou.”

  
“Yeah, yeah. Don’t mention it.”

  
Suga couldn’t see Tendou’s face but he guessed that he just had his normal sleepy expression. Nothing special.

  
Which was perfectly fine.

  
After that, it was much easier for Suga. To be honest, even though Tendou was kinda a bean pole, his shoulder was comfortable.The steady bounce as the taller walking was soothing. Before long he was closing his eyes.

  
At that moment it was easy for Sugawara Koushi to fall asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Oikawa Tooru felt like he was going to be sick. If the constant swaying wasn’t enough, his head felt like it was going to split open. His eyes burned and he could taste blood in his mouth, possibly from biting his tongue. He was lying on something hard, solid and cold. Metal. It had to be metal. The air smelled of salt and he could hear wind along with water sloshing around as if someone was shaking a bowl of liquid back and forth.

  
That’s when he realized that he must be on a boat.

  
Clutching his stomach, Oikawa thought, ‘What’s going on?’

  
That was the question. Oikawa couldn’t think, it was all a big blur. The last thing the setter remembered was that he was studying in his room with Iwazumi. Did he leave at some point? They had to have left, right? How else did he get here? But wait. . . didn’t he go to sleep? He was sure that he had fallen asleep in his own bed after his childhood friend had gone home for the night.

  
It made no sense and Oikawa groaned.

  
Lying for a while in his own misery, Oikawa tried to even out his breathing. He noticed after a few minutes that the wind had started to pick up. The boat rocked and Oikawa squeezed his eyes shut even harder. The motions were getting more and more intense and suddenly the whole boat jerked violently. Tooru yelped as he was thrown with the movement, his back hitting what he assumed to be the side of the boat and all the air in his lungs left him.

  
Oikawa gagged and opened his eyes.

  
Then his breath was knocked out of him again as something slammed into him, crushing him against the metal. It was both solid and soft and Oikawa pushed it away in a panic, sitting up and coughing. He reached his hands up to his throat, gasping. The bottom of his sweats grew cold, the wave having sloshed water into the boat, pooling into a puddle under him. Tooru was able to rein in his coughing fit, grasping the side of the boat to steady himself as it evened out.

  
The waves calmed and Oikawa was glad for the rollercoaster ride was over.

  
In that moment of silence; Oikawa heard it.

  
A groan that definitely wasn’t his own.

  
Oikawa turned his head, almost ridiculously slowly, and his brown eyes found what made the sound. On the other side of the boat was a teenage boy, slowly picking himself off the floor, where Oikawa realized he must have just thrown him. The boy was wearing a red jacket and sweatpants, the words ‘Nekoma Volleyball’ running down the side in white lettering. His hair was shoulder length and dyed blonde. Though, Oikawa noted, he must not have dyed it in a long time as the roots were showing. The boy sat up and turned to look at Oikawa, who was slightly taken aback by the golden color of the boy’s eyes and how. . . cat-like they seemed.

  
The boy averted his eyes when the staring contest the two were unconsciously having grew too long.

  
Oikawa looked away and for the first time since he woke up, he got a good look at his surroundings. He had correctly guessed that he was at sea but the boat was actually tethered to a rock that towered above them. The rope was tied to a steel rod embedded into the rock; stretching out securely to the bow. The boat itself was pretty small, maybe fitting six people as long as they didn’t stretch out too much. Long ores were attached by rings to the side of the boat. There was no benches or chairs to sit on, the only thing that could be possibly be used was a cooler at the back.

  
Looking past the massive rock Oikawa could make out an island in the distance. It wasn’t too far away and was quite large. Oikawa couldn’t make out any buildings or people but he decided that this was his best bet to figuring out what had happened to him. The wind had ceased to be relevant as the rock was now blocking most of the gusts but Oikawa shivered because of the water soaking into his pants.

  
That’s when he noticed that he was wearing what he went to bed in. His pajamas were plain blue sweats, much like the color from his volleyball uniform, and a light violet shirt with a green alien printed on the front. For some reason, he also had his volleyball jacket on as well but he was sure that he had hung it up before going to bed.

  
“Um. . . “

  
Oikawa blinked and turned back to the other occupant of the boat. The boy’s golden eyes flicked away and back again rapidly, finally settling on not looking at Oikawa. He lifted up his arm lazily and pointed at him,” Your. . .head. You're injured.”

  
Oikawa immediately reached up to his forehead. He didn’t feel blood or cuts like he expecting but some sort of cloth. After further inspection he found that it was wrapped around his head, pulling back his hair.

  
Bandages, Oikawa realized.

  
Well, at least this explains why his head hurt like a bitch.

  
“Hmm, seems so,” Oikawa said dropping his hands into his lap. The boy glanced at him, longer this time, before looking away. But in those few seconds, Oikawa felt like he was analyzing him, taking in his every move.

  
Oikawa narrowed his eyes before smiling, “ You okay over there? I threw you pretty hard.”

  
The boy scooted away from him,” Fine.”

  
Oikawa pursed his lips, “I’m Oikawa Tooru. Nice to meet you.”

  
The boy turned toward him. Golden eyes narrowed and Oikawa could see some sort of recognition in them.

  
Had they met before?

  
Oikawa was sure that they haven't.

  
“Kozume. . . .,” Kenma said still eyeing Oikawa,“Kozume Kenma.”

  
Oikawa smirked,” Nice to meet you Kenma-kun. What a situation we got ourselves in, huh? Have any idea where we are?”

  
Kenma remained silent.

  
Oikawa pursed his lips.

  
Kenma glanced up at Oikawa,“Can I. . . ask you a question?”

  
For some reason, Oikawa felt a little uneasy but he smiled through it anyway,” Sure.”

  
Kenma blinked, “Are you. . . .by any chance. . . called the ‘Grand. . . King’?”

  
“Wha-”

  
Kenma interrupted him,” You sound. . .like someone my friend talks about. His name is. . . Hinata Shoyou. He said that he was beaten. . . in his first tournament by a team with an amazing setter captain. He called the Captain the ‘Grand King’. That’s you, isn’t it?”

  
Oikawa leaned back, stunned. This kid was something else, to figure out who he was just in a conversation. Observant, Oikawa noted. He said the first thing that came to mind, “You know Chibi-chan?”

  
Kenma looked away, the sentence Oikawa blurted answer enough for his question.

  
Oikawa smiled smugly and leaned forward, his head tilting to the side,” I’m glad Chibi-chan talks about me in such a way. I mean, I'm amazing after all. The best setter in the prefecture.”

  
Kenma didn’t even turn around,” Shoyou also said . . . that you were a ‘mean’ and that you tease him. . .all the time.”

  
And it irritated Oikawa that he could imagine the little number ten sticking his tongue out at the end:

  
_‘He’s so mean, blegh! And he always teases me too! I like Iwazumi better!’_

  
Okay, that last part might be from his overactive imagination.

  
It still made Oikawa’s face twitch all the same.

  
“Well-”

  
Kenma suddenly turned around stopping Oikawa’s childish comment in its tracks. Oikawa gulped at the intense look in Kenma’s golden eyes,” And. . . Shoyou won his recent match against you. . . so you're not that amazing.”

  
Oikawa’s jaw fell to the floor, aghast.

  
Kenma smiled, only a little bit, before looking away again.

  
Oikawa recovered relatively quickly,” Excuse you! I just met you and you talk me like that Kenma-chan!”

  
Kenma didn’t say anything. Instead, he turned his back on the brown-haired setter and crawled over to the cooler, opening it. He paused, then stuck his hand inside and started digging through its contents.

  
“And you’re ignoring me! Rude!”

  
Oikawa huffed when he didn’t get any reaction and shuffled over to the Nekoma player, looking over his shoulder, “What are you doing?”

  
Kenma didn’t answer right away, pulling a school bag out of the cooler and placing it on the floor of the boat, unzipping it, “This is. . .my school bag.”

  
Curious, Oikawa looked over Kenma’s shoulder. Even though Kenma was moving the contents around in his search Tooru was able to see what was inside: a bottle of water, five different energy bars, a portable battery, a change of clothes, a rectangular black zipper bag, a box that was taped up and-

  
“Wait! You have a phone!”

  
Without permission, Oikawa snatched the phone and turned it on. As Oikawa waited for it to boot up he saw Kenma give him a disappointed look,” You shouldn’t take other people’s phones. Plus. . . ”

  
Kenma sighed, “I don’t think. . . you should get your hopes up.”

  
“Hmm?” Okawa blinked, “But this might be our chance to call for-”

  
Oikawa stopped when looked down at the phone's screen. In mockingly big letters were the words:

  
No Signal.

  
“Damn it!”

  
“What do you think would happen. . . .?” Kenma asked flatly,” We’re. . . in the middle of nowhere.”

  
Oikawa threw the phone back into the bag, an irritated scowl on his face. He crossing his arms and lifted up his chin like a child, ” Well at least I tried, unlike you, Kenma-chan.”

  
Kenma pulled the box out of his bag and examined it without commenting on Oikawa’s childish claim.Tooru’s mouth formed a thin line. He looked inside the cooler to see if there was anything else to find. It came up empty. Kenma started to peel off the tape holding the box closed, getting it off with a single pull. Inside the box was a small stash of PSP games. Kenma perked up, reaching for the rectangular zipper bag, opening it to find the handheld game system. Kenma pushed a button and the screen came to life.

  
Kenma smiled.

  
Oikawa, who had long lost interest in Kenma’s school bag and the cooler once he realized there wasn’t anything for him, was fiddling with the ores on the side of the boat. After a little prodding, he manages to get one loose. The other four were undone soon after.

  
“We should use these to get to that island,” Oikawa said pointing at said Island.

  
No Reaction.

  
Irritated, Oikawa poked Kenma’s shoulder with an ore,” Hey, you going to help me row to shore or what?”

  
Kenma looked up at the sudden jab. He was silent for a second before he put the PSP back in its case, securing the games and device safely in his school bag. Once done he gave Oikawa a look, obviously stalling.

  
“What?” Oikawa asked irritated that the other still hasn’t grabbed the ore he was so humbly offering.

  
Kenma wrinkled his nose and sighed, reaching out and grabbing the ore. Oikawa then passed him the second one and Kenma glumly started to get them in position, deciding to be at the front of the boat. Oikawa turned to his own and adjusted them so that they were in their slots, ready to row. Once done he turned to Kenma, sitting criss-cross with his back to the bow of the boat. Oikawa faced him,” I’m going to untie us.”

  
Kenma nodded and Oikawa got up unsteadily to his feet. He swayed as he walked the few steps, walking around Kenma and grabbing the rope, untying it. Oikawa held the end of the rope in his hands and pulled, bringing the boat closer to the rock and metal rod. He unwound the other end attached to the rod and bundled the rope together. He then walked to the cooler and threw the bundle inside, slamming it shut.

  
Oikawa sat down, rocking the boat, and grabbed his ores.

  
“Ready?”

  
“Mhm.”

 

The two started to row.

  
It was shaky at first as both didn’t seem to know fully how to row a boat but after a little grunting and directing each other they got in a rhythm. It got harder though when they passed the edge of the rock and the wind that the two honestly forgot about, blew against them. It wasn’t that strong of gusts but it was enough that it made it difficult keeping the boat going in the right direction.

  
Oikawa watched the rock grow smaller. Behind it was endless blue ocean and Oikawa had to admit that it was a beautiful sight. The sun was out and there was barely any clouds in the sky. They rowed in silence for a long time before Oikawa decided to break it with a grunt,” So, how do you know Chibi-chan?”

  
It was hard to hear Kenma over the wind because he was so quiet in general but Oikawa was able to pick up,” Our teams used to be rivals. . . and our coaches . . . brought us back together for a practice match.”

  
“Rivals, huh? That’s exciting,” Oikawa said almost bitterly. All his rivals were assholes.

  
_“You should have gone to Shiratorizawa.”_

  
_“Can you teach me how to serve like you?”_

  
Oikawa scowled.

  
Even though Oikawa couldn’t see he figured that the other nodded,”Mhm. Kuro was excited to play against them . . .when he heard about it. He wanted to start the rivalry up again.”

  
“Kuro? Who’s that?”

  
“Kuroo Tetsurou, our captain.”

  
Oikawa tilted his head as he rowed,” A nickname. Must be more than a captain to you.”

  
There was a moment of silence. It was long enough that Oikawa thought the other wouldn’t answer but, “I’ve known Kuro for a long time. We played. . . together when we were kids.”

  
“Oh! Childhood friends! Just like me and Iwa-chan. I’ve known him forever too. We would play volleyball in my backyard. Iwa-chan is so mean sometimes, though! Headbutting me and laughing when I accidentally got hit the face with the ball. That jerk.”

  
“Hmm.”

  
Oikawa expression darkened slightly, “We studied together before this happened. I wonder if he realized I’m gone yet.”

  
“He’s your friend, right?”

  
Oikawa jolted at the question and turned to face Kenma. His expression revealed nothing as he said, “If you’re close. . . then I think that he would notice you were gone. Kuro would. He’s probably looking for me right now.”

  
“Yeah. I guess you’re right,” Oikawa felt water come to his eyes,” Kenma-chan! Are you cheering me up!”

  
Kenma wrinkled his nose and looked away.

  
Oikawa gasped, crossing his arms, “How rude! And here I thought that we were bonding! You’re so mean, Kenma-chan!”

  
The wind picked and the boat jerked to the side. Oikawa yelped, turning around and grabbing his ores to steer through the wave. Water got into the bottom of the boat despite the effort and he shivered.

After that, the conversation fizzled out and the silence returned. It wasn’t awkward and Tooru felt like, just this once, to enjoy it. He went back to his previous thoughts about the ocean being beautiful. Even though he didn’t know how he got here it still was nice to feel the breeze on his face. His head still hurt but not as much as before. A shadow crossed over him and Oikawa looked up to see a few birds flying by, white and angled.

  
It was. . .peaceful.

  
Splash!

  
Oikawa jolted at the sound, turning around. Behind him was nothing and Oikawa rushed to the front of the boat, leaning over and looking around,” Kenma-chan!”

  
Something banged against the bottom of the boat and Oikawa jumped. A head popped out of the water a few feet away and Kenma gasped, flailing his arms. A wave slammed into him and his head went under the water, feeling his mouth and nose with water. Resurfacing, Kenma gasped for air but was again brought under.

  
“I’m coming, Kenma!”

  
Oikawa jumped out of the boat. The water stung when his head was dunked but Oikawa forgot about that when he saw Kenma who was having a hard time staying on the surface, frantically moving his arms. When he got there Oikawa was smacked by Kenma’s flailing limbs but he managed to wrap his arms under the other’s armpits, lifting him up as he treaded water. Kenma gulped up air into his lungs as Oikawa hauled him over to the boat. Tooru pushed him up and practically threw the other back onboard. He grabbed the edge and pulled himself over.

  
Kenma was on his hands and knees, coughing. Oikawa leaned back and caught his breath. Both sat in silence for a while before Oikawa turn to Kenma,” What happened!”

  
Kenma shook his head and coughed,”I-I don’t-”

  
Oikawa gave him time to collect himself as he shivered and crossed his arms for warmth. Oikawa sniffed, he was completely soaked. Once Kenma was able to breathe normally he sat next to Oikawa and sniffled.

  
They both sat there for a while until Oikawa spoke,” What the heck happened?”

  
“I don’t know what happened,” Kenma furrowed his brows,” I was. . .just suddenly underwater. I couldn’t breathe, _Sniff_ , I swam up . . .only to hit the bottom of the boat.”

  
Kenma looked away, eyes scrunching up,” I don’t understand.”

  
Oikawa narrowed his eyes before letting them relax, sighing, he got up,” Whatever, it’s fine. Forget about it.”

  
He went over to the cooler reaching inside and pulling out Kenma’s bag. He unzipped Kenma’s school bag and grabbed the change of clothes. He threw it over to the other,” Stop looking like a wet cat and change. I’ll continue rowing.”

  
And Oikawa did just that. As he rowed he could hear Kenma shuffling around and an occasional sniff or sneeze. Even though Oikawa told Kenma to forget about it he felt that something wasn’t right.

  
What it was, he couldn’t say but he knew that what Kenma told him was weird in and of itself. It didn’t quite make sense and Oikawa was angry because he couldn’t figure out what happened.

  
Kenma joined Oikawa after getting changed and soon the two were able to row to shore. Once they hit the shallows both jumped out, splashing into knee deep water. They pushed the boat onto shore and collapsed, crawling onto the dry sand. It clung to their wet hair( and in Oikawa’s case his whole body) but at that moment both of them didn’t care.

  
Oikawa stretches out and closes his eyes,“Ah! I’m so glad to finally be on dry land!”

  
Kenma nodded in agreement.Then Kenma suddenly sat up and grabbed onto Oikawa’s shirt sleeve, tugging at it. Oikawa blinks open one eye to look at him,”Hmm.”

  
Kenma points inland, “Look.”

  
Oikawa sits up and looks were the other is pointing. There was an opening in the trees that showed a man-made path going inland. Farther away, nestled into the side of one of the island’s main mountains was what looked to be a huge building, maybe a hotel or mansion seeing as it is elegantly crafted. Oikawa could only see the top but it looked like it wasn’t too far away.

  
“I. . . think we should go there.”

  
Oikawa smirked and hugged the other,” You amazing, Kenma-chan!”

  
Kenma grimaced and wiggled out of Oikawa’s hold. Getting to his feet he swiped the sand off his clothes before sighing and heading to the boat to grab his things. As Oikawa waited he smiled knowing that this was a step in the right direction. He was close to figuring out what happened to him.

  
He was close to getting back to Iwa-chan.

  
Kenma slung the bag over his shoulder and walked over to Oikawa, “. . . ready.”

  
Together, they left the ocean behind in search of answers.

  
Oikawa Tooru was pretty optimistic.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for Yamaguchi's POV

Yamaguchi Tadashi woke up tasting dirt in his mouth, it sticking to his tongue and making him cough harshly. It burned as if he had swallowed cups full of grit and ash, and he couldn’t get it out of his lungs. Snapping his eyes open he quickly sat up, his chest clenching with each gasp of air. His vision blurs and Yamaguchi realizes that he tearing up from coughing so hard. It stings but after a while, the coughing stops and Yamaguchi is taking deep breaths to calm down, his throat raw and aching.

  
His hands reached up to his throat and rubbed gently as he blinked the last of the wetness from his eyes. The first thing he saw once his vision was clearer was the bruises on his legs along with his volleyball shorts and shoes. Slightly dazed eyes moved on to the mud clinging to his white shirt and the freckles dotting his arms. Pulling his hands back Yamaguchi stared at them. They were shaking, covered in dirt and speckles of-

  
Blood.

  
Yamaguchi gulped, his breath hitching slightly.

  
_Calm down, you're okay. Everything's fine. You're okay._

  
Taking deep breaths Yamaguchi lowered his trembling hands and rubbed them on his shorts, getting rid of some of the grim but most of it stuck stubbornly to his skin. Giving up and trying to avoid looking at his hands any longer he glanced up.

  
He saw the sky. . .

  
. . . through a large opening high above him, surrounded by collapsing piles of dirt and debris. Trees that Yamaguchi didn’t recognize lined the rim, some leaning dangerously to the side because of a lack of ground holding their roots in place. A small stream of water was coming over the side and pooling into a puddle before gravity took it further down.  
He was in a giant sinkhole.

  
And before he could truly process this information he sees something red out of the corner of his eye and Yamaguchi scrambles to his feet, sliding in the wet earth in his hast to turn and face whatever it was, only to find that it wasn’t a thing but two human bodies.

  
Lying still. . .

  
Not moving. . .

  
Are they even breathing?

  
“Oh god,” Yamaguchi trembles,” What should I-I-? What would Tsukki do? I-”

  
Suddenly one of them groans and Yamaguchi jumps, taking a shaky step backward. He swallows his saliva and slowly moves forward before he gains a smidge of confidence Tsukishima would be proud of and runs over to the boy on the ground. He collapses on his knees next to him, reaching his hands out and touching his shoulder, "H-hey, are you okay? Wake u-up.”

  
The boy stirs and moves his head towards Yamaguchi’s voice. His usually light colored hair his almost brown and he had a cut on one cheek. His long limbs twitch slightly, digging more into the dirt under him. His red shorts are caked with mud and his black shirt is ripped down the side showing some of his ribs. The boy’s eyes flutter and slowly green eyes stare up at Yamaguchi.

  
Haiba Lev blinks confusedly for a moment before saying,”You're the guy that says ‘Tsukki!’ all the time.”

  
‘Uh. . . “ Yamaguchi doesn’t really know how to respond,” It’s Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi Tadashi.”

  
Lev sits up and Yamaguchi scoots to the side to give him room. Lev shakes his head before raising his hand to cradle it gently. He blinks a few times turning from side to side before his eyes widen and he exclaims,” Where are we!”

  
Tadashi chuckles nervously,”I. . .I don’t know.”  
Lev scrunches his nose, “I don’t understand.”

  
“Um . . . neither do I?” Yamaguchi said not meaning for it to come out more as a question, “I just woke up before you did. I’m not sure what’s going on and-”

  
Tadashi glances behind Lev’s shoulder, biting his lip. He not sure how he should phrase the next part so he just lifts his slightly trembling hand and points past Lev’s ear. Lev blinks before turning around to face the third boy lying on the ground behind him.

  
The reaction is instantaneous.

  
Lev pushes himself up and almost glides over to the boy. Once he’s there he flings his hands around as if not entirely sure where to touch the other. Yamaguchi is quick to follow, kneeling down next to Lev. The boy on the ground was wearing a Nekoma tracksuit but one of the pant legs seemed to be cut about mid-thigh. The leg was covered in thick bandages, disappearing under the cut fabric and going all the way down wrap around his foot. His light brown hair was dark with mud and he had a bruise on his cheek that looks like someone had punched him.

  
“Yaku-san! Are you okay! Wake up,” Lev panics, turning to Yamaguchi,” Is he breathing! I don’t think he’s breathing!”

  
Yamaguchi pauses, not sure what to do. Lev gives him a pleading look and Yamaguchi suddenly feels pressured and anxious. He stares into Lev’s eyes for what felt like a minute before he says the first thing that comes to mind, albeit shakily,“I-I’ll check.”

  
Yamaguchi had no idea what he was doing but he leaned down, his face close to Yaku’s mouth and nose. He waited and then felt a light brush of air against his cheek and sighed in relief. He waits for another breath out of caution before leaning back and facing Lev with a wobbly smile,” He’s breathing.”

  
Lev’s eyes light up in a way Yamaguchi had never seen, "Phew! I’m so glad! It’d be a shame for short, little Yaku-san to die.”

  
“. . . Yeah,” Yamaguchi said for a lack of anything else to say. There was a moment of silence between them, the only sounds were of water trickling and the wind blowing above them. Lev continued to stare down at Yaku but Yamaguchi’s eyes wandered, thinking. It all seems surreal if he was being honest with himself. Waking up like this. In a sinkhole with two(at the time) unconscious boys that he knew, but not really.

  
How did he get here anyway? The last thing Tadashi remembered was that Tsukki was surprisingly into practice and it had made Yamaguchi smile to see his friend enjoying himself. Did they leave to go home? It looked like he didn’t even change out of what he wore for practice so that can’t be it. He tried to dig deeper for more memories but all that accomplished was giving himself a headache.

  
“Hey look at these!”

  
Yamaguchi turned to see that Lev was walking towards him holding up three school bags, smiling wide, “I found these!”

  
Yamaguchi blinked, slightly surprised that he didn’t notice Lev leaving. Getting up and brushing uselessly on his shorts to try to get some of the dirt off, he looked at Lev’s loot. He eyed the bags for a moment before he realized, “Oh! One of those is mine.”

  
Lev blinked before shuffling the bags around and saying calmly, "Which one?”

  
Yamaguchi pointed at his bag and Lev pasted it over. Balancing it on one arm he zipped it open and dug inside. There was a change of clothes( not his uniform, Yamaguchi noticed, but some clothes from his house), a water bottle, a blanket with a galaxy design that Tsukishima had got him for his birthday, a few books, and his phone. The phone seemed to be broken, the screen shattered and when Yamaguchi pressed the button on the side to turn it on it didn’t boot up.

  
Beside him, Lev smiled,”Oh! This one’s mine. And this one must be Mori’s,” he held up both bags at the same time and Yamaguchi had no idea which was which.

  
He decided not to mention it.

  
Lev set one of them down on the ground while slinging the other over his shoulder and crouched down. He unzipped it and shuffles around its contents,”Hmm, Yaku-san has weird things.”

  
Yamaguchi gapped at Lev before he said, overwhelmed,”You shouldn’t just go through his bag!”

  
Lev tilted his head, looking honestly confused,”Why not? He’s not awake to see what’s inside.”

  
‘T-that’s not-,” Yamaguchi tried to explain his hands moving in wild hand jesters,” privacy and-and not-you shouldn’t- and”

  
Lev laughed out loud, zipping the bag up with one smooth motion,” Your funny Yamaguchi-kun! I like you!”

  
He left Yaku’s bag on the ground and threw his arm around Yamaguchi’s shoulders in a side hug. Yamaguchi blinked fast, his mouth open in . . . shock? Disbelief? It was hard to tell.

  
Lev let go of Yamaguchi and said,”There wasn’t much in his bag anyway! Just some bandages and a change of clothes,” Lev paused,”Oh! And a broken watch! And some pain meds. And water bottles. And-”

  
Yamaguchi put up his hand to signal Lev to stop, “I-I really don’t need to k-know.”

  
“Okay! Mine just has snacks and a change of clothes!”

  
Yamaguchi wished that Tsukishima was here, he would know how to handle this.

  
Lev became oddly serious,”So what should we do now?”

  
Yamaguchi didn’t know how he became the leader in this situation but Lev was staring at him intently and it was making him anxious, "Uh, we could get. . . out of this. . . hole?”

  
Lev smiled, clapping Yamaguchi on the shoulder a little too roughly and sending him clumsily forward a few steps,” Good Idea, Yamaguchi!”

  
Tadashi coughed from the sudden hit. He straightened up just in time for Lev to throw the other two bags his way. Making a squeak of shock Yamaguchi caught them barely. Looking up at Lev with wide eyes he saw him heading over to Yaku, "You take those! I’ll get Yaku-san!”

  
Yamaguchi sighed and situated the three bags in such a way that they balanced each other out, though he did look a bit ridiculous carrying them. He walked over to Lev who gently picked up Yaku bridal style. Yaku didn’t stir at all and Lev was careful not to jostle him too much. Yamaguchi looked around for the best spot to climb out and spotted a pile of debris that was higher than the others.

  
Yamaguchi gestured in that direction and Lev nodded and followed closely behind Tadashi. The took slow and steady steps as they climbed up the pile of debris, Yamaguchi giving Lev a hand at times so that he wouldn’t accidentally drop Yaku.

  
They get to the top of the pile and Yamaguchi reaches up to test how much higher he would have to get to climb out of the hole. The tips of his fingers barely brushed the edge and Yamaguchi jumps up as much as he could with the extra weight of the bags dragging him down. He managed to snag something up top so that he was hanging about a foot off the ground. He shimmies his way up and over, kicking down little avalanches of dirt when he made contact with the slope of the sinkhole.

  
Crawling a bit forward Yamaguchi has a split second to look around before he takes the bags off and carefully leans over the edge, Lev staring at him from below, "Okay.”

  
Lev takes that as a signal to start passing Yaku up to him. Lev is so tall that he barely has to lift Yaku before Yamaguchi is able to wrap his arms around him and gently pull him onto solid ground. He tries to be careful as he drags Yaku away from the edge to make room for Lev to climb out. After a few seconds, Lev does just that, jumping up and pulling one leg up than another.

  
Lev crawls over to Yamaguchi and they both sit there for a moment, basking in their small achievement of getting out of the sinkhole.

  
Yaku still doesn’t wake up, even after all of that.

  
Yamaguchi is a bit worried but before he could voice this thought Lev is suddenly on his feet,” We did it!”

  
All Yamaguchi can do is laugh with a genuine smile on his face. Lev celebrated for a bit more before kneeling down. He grabbed Yaku once more and adjusted him so that he was carrying him piggy-back. Standing up his hosted Yaku up a bit more to make it more comfortable for both of them, "Well, let’s get going!”

  
Lev started to walk away and Yamaguchi scrambled to grab the luggage he was assigned to carry. Once he had all three hanging from his shoulders he jogged to catch up to the taller volleyball player. Lev had found what looked like a ragged path through the trees and had started to follow it. Yamaguchi figured that it was better than nothing.

  
They walked in silence for a long time before Lev breaks it with a question Yamaguchi isn’t sure how to answer,” What do you think happened to us?”

  
Yamaguchi opened his mouth to reply but Lev continued on his own before Tadashi could get it out. Yamaguchi was silently relieved, “I wonder if it’s just us or if there are others? I can’t really remember much before you woke me up.”

  
Yamaguchi glanced at him and asked timidly,” What do you remember?”

  
Lev looked over with his intense green eyes and Yamaguchi felt slightly uncomfortable being stared at,”Hmm. I was walking home with Yaku-san. We live close to each other and Yaku-san was giving me extra practice for my receives.”

  
Yamaguchi remembered the Lev was terrible at receives, worse than Hinata. He wasn’t going to say that out loud though,”That’s it?”

  
Lev nodded in affirmation and the conversation stalled. Yamaguchi wanted to talk more but wasn’t sure where to start. He wasn’t very good making conversation with people and had always left it to Tsukishima.

  
It was easier.

  
Yamaguchi fished for anything and said the first thing that came to mind,”A-are the practices helping? You know, with your receives?”

  
Lev smiled,” Yep! Though Yaku-san is kinda scary sometimes when I ditch-”

  
_Poor, Yaku._

  
“- but I have fun practicing with him! He’s fun to tease,” Lev said before his expression grew a bit sad,” I’ll miss Yaku-san when he graduates. Volleyball won’t be as fun without him.”

  
Yamaguchi blinks,”Oh, yeah, he’s a third year. It’s easy to forget because of his. . . “

  
Yamaguchi trials off, eyes wide but Lev doesn’t get the hint,” You mean his small size, right!”

  
“Uh. . . “ Yamaguchi voice wobbles nervously as Lev starts to laugh, ”Uh, Lev. . . “

  
“Mori is so tiny, he gets so upset by it too! He’s so cute!”

  
Yamaguchi could only watch as Lev dug his own grave.

  
“He’s a tiny Senpai, alright!” Lev suddenly gets socked upside the head, hard, Ow!”

  
He let’s go of a seething Yaku as he reaches up to hold onto his aching head. Yaku is glaring daggers at the behemoth that was just carrying him as he lands on the ground. Yaku’s legs tremble slightly because of his injured leg but grips,”Dammit, Lev!”

  
Lev looks up, betrayed,“Ow! Yaku-san! Why did you hit me!”

  
Yaku’s eye twitched in anger and he stepped forward to hit Lev again only for his injured leg to buckle and fall instead. Yamaguchi reacts and manages to catch him before he hits the ground, helping him stand up straight again. Yaku groans slightly and leans on a little more on Yamaguchi.

  
“Are you alright?” Yamaguchi asked as Yaku pulled away to stand on his own.

  
Yaku grimaces slightly, his eyes scrunched up a bit in pain. A few seconds of this pass before Yaku smiles at Yamaguchi, all pain leaving his face as he looks around,”I’m fine. Where are we? And why are you here?”

  
“Um, we’re not sure-” Yamaguchi starts only to be interrupted by Lev,” We all woke in a big sinkhole and you were unconscious while we both climbed out! We both don’t remember anything!”

  
Yaku’s face looked like he wasn’t fully believing what Lev was saying but when Yamaguchi nodded along he sighed and placed a hand on his head,”Okay. So Let me get this straight.We all were in a sinkhole in the middle of nowhere and we don’t have any memories of how we got there? Or how we got so banged up?”

  
Yamaguchi nodded.

  
“Okay then, we just need to find somewhere where we can figure out where we are,” Yaku said starting to walk away. Yamaguchi was grateful that he was taking charge, relieved that Lev wouldn’t give that intense look anymore, “Let’s just follow the path, it has to lead somewhere. . . probably.”

  
Lev and Yamaguchi look at each other before following him. Yaku is unsteady on his feet, wobbling slightly but managing to walk on his own. Lev tries at one point to grab his arm to help him walk and Yaku shoves it off with a scowl that could top Kageyama’s. Lev pouts and Yaku’s face softens only slightly and lets' Lev help him.

  
But only a little.

  
They walk for a long time, it feels like hours, and Yamaguchi breaks out the water bottle from his bag and takes a few satisfying gulps of the refreshing liquid. Lev sees this and begs Yaku for a rest stop, saying he’s hungry and Yaku begrudgingly agrees. They find a nice clearing to stop, Lev helping Yaku down so his back was leaning against a tree. Yamaguchi took off all the bags and handed over the ones that weren't his.

  
Lev smiled as he dug the snacks out of his bag, brandishing the granola bars as if they were a trophy,” Alright let’s eat!”

  
Yamaguchi catches Yaku smiling for a moment before Lev looks at him and his face becomes neutral. Lev happily hands Yaku his share before passing Yamaguchi some as well. They sit in silence as they eat and Yamaguchi observes the other two.

  
It was interesting.

  
After a while Yaku turns to Yamaguchi, swallowing his mouthful of granola, “So I heard that you guys were able to beat Shiratorizawa.”

  
Yamaguchi blushed embarrassingly as he nodded, “Yeah, we played five sets against them.”

  
“Five? Man must have been a match to watch,” Yaku crumpled up his wrapper and stuffed it into his open bag, “Kuroo was excited. Going on and on about having a real match with you guys, though I’ll admit I’m looking forward to it as well. If it does happen that is.”

  
Yamaguchi looked down at his dirty shoes. The mud had dried on his skin and was starting to flake. He hoped they would be able to clean it off soon,” Everyone is working hard. The third years are happy that they finally got to go to nationals.”

  
Yaku smiled almost encouragingly at Yamaguchi and Tadashi saw a bit of Sugawara in Yaku,”I bet. I’m happy for them.”

  
Lev decided that he felt left out,” How about Hinata-kun? Can he still jump really high? Has he grown at all?”

  
Yaku eyed him as if he was expecting him to turn the height issues Yaku's way. He doesn’t.

  
Yamaguchi taught about it for a bit,” He still can jump but I’m not sure if he grew or not. I haven't really asked, so. . .”

  
“How’s Nishinoya? Still working hard?” Yaku asked as he took a swing of water from his water bottle.

  
Yamaguchi just shrugged,” Good, I guess.”

  
Yaku twisted his cap back on and studies Yamaguchi for a moment. Yamaguchi looked away after a while, feeling uncomfortable. Yaku pursed his lips before leaning forward, smiling,” What about you, Yamaguchi. How’s the Jump float serve coming along? You were working so hard on it at the training camp.”

  
Yamaguchi looked up, almost startled by the question. He didn’t think the Yaku would ask anything about him. He wasn’t that outgoing to be noticed and it wasn’t as if he really stood out at the training camp,” Uh, good actually. I managed to pull it off in our match against Aobajosai and get five points.”

  
Yaku smiled wider,” That’s great, Yamaguchi!”

  
Yamaguchi smiled at the praise, "Thank you.”

  
“Your welcome,” Yaku said before glaring at Lev,” Now if someone would work on his receives. . .”

  
Lev dropped his granola bar, sweating.

  
“Yes! Look Ennoshita! Look, there are people over there! Woo!”

  
All three of them jumped at the shout, turning their heads to the sound of the outburst. On the other side of the small clearing, two people stepped out from behind a tree waving. One was Yamaguchi’s senpai, Ennoshita. He’s wearing his practice clothes much like Yamaguchi. He seemed fine other than a few band-aids on his arms and legs. The other was a boy with a shaved head and wearing a black tracksuit that had a rip on the thigh as if he had snagged it on something.

  
“Tanaka-senpai!” Yamaguchi got up to his feet, “Ennoshita-senpai!”

  
Tanaka smirked before grabbing Yamaguchi in a side hug and ruffling his hair maybe a little too aggressively, “Yamaguchi! I’m so glad to see you!”

  
As Tanaka smothers Yamaguchi, Ennoshita walks calmly to the other two and bows,”Hello.”

  
Yaku bows back, as much as he can in his sitting position “Hello.”

  
“Hi!” Lev says grinning.

  
Tanaka finally lets go of a slightly dazed Yamaguchi and exclaims,”I’m so glad we found other people!”

  
There is an awkward silence for a solid thirty seconds and Ennoshita elaborates when it seems Tanaka wasn’t planning to,” We’ve been walking around for hours trying to find help.”

  
“Did you just wake up somewhere with no memories?” Yaku asked, “That’s what happened to us.”

  
Ennoshita nodded, opening his mouth to say more but was quickly interrupted by Tanaka,” We did figure some things out though. Get this We’re on a giant island!”

  
Yaku blinked,” Of course, Japan’s an island.”

  
Tanaka shook his head dramatically,”No! Were on an island that’s smaller than that! Honestly, you would think it was uninhabited if it wasn’t for that hotel thing we saw.”

  
“Hotel?” Yamaguchi asked.

  
Ennoshita nodded,” Yeah, we saw it in the distance and decided to head that direction. Thought we would be able to find help there. We ran into you guys on accident.”

  
“Well, let’s go then!” Lev says stuffing the rest of his snack into his bag and zipping it up. He slings it over his shoulder, grabs Yaku’s and does the same,” Let’s get to that Hotel!”

  
“Alright! Everyone follow the mighty Tanaka! He will be your guide on this trip!” Tanaka yelled putting his hands on his hips.

  
Ennoshita sighed as he helped Yaku up from his sitting position.

  
Yamaguchi stuffed the last of his snack in his mouth before putting the wrapper in his bag and zipping it up. He put it on his shoulder and started to follow the others out of the clearing. And as he watched the other’s interact as they walked to their new destination Yamaguchi couldn’t help but think that everything was going to work out.

  
They would get help and go home.

  
He would be able to hang out with Tsukki again.

  
Yamaguchi smiled.

  
Yamaguchi Tadashi couldn’t wait to get to that hotel.


	4. Chapter 3.5

Tanaka Ryuunosuke felt something digging uncomfortably into his back, a slight breeze making something he couldn't identify brush his nose, causing him to sneeze. His eyes twitched as he shifted and he realized that he had fallen asleep sitting up. Sleepily, and without opening his eyes, he moved his leg so he could start to position himself in an attempt to get up, only for his leg to meet open air and shift his whole body that direction.

  
Tanaka's eyes snapped open and he jerked to the side. He fell for only a second before he hit the ground with a grunt, displacing the leaves around him. He groaned, rolling onto his back and blinked a few times, unseeing. He rubbed his eyes and focused on the overlapping design the branches made above him, obscuring the sky.

  
He laid there for a moment before he slowly sat up. He rubbed his aching back and looked around. He was sitting in the middle of a dirt path, sides blocking the rest of the forest with handrails. Other than the path having a bend about a hundred feet away there was nothing but trees in every direction, thick and close together. He grumbled as he brushed leaves and dirt off his clothes, “Ow, dammit. Where the hell am I?”

  
The last thing Tanaka remembered was leaving practice with Nishinoya. Daichi was going to treat the team with food and Tanka remember that he couldn’t wait to sink his teeth into a delicious meat bun. But this wasn’t Ukai’s store. Not even close. How did he end up here? Was the meat bun spiked or something? Had he walked here himself or did someone leave him? Was it just him? Were the others alright?

  
Tanaka growled slightly as he got to his feet and started walking gruffly down the path, shoving his hands into his tracksuit pockets, _‘Like hell, I’m going to stay here.’_

  
He walked in silence, every once in a while kicking a stray rock. The wind lightly grazed his face and neck making him shiver. He scrunched his head down into his collar to block some of the cold. He hoped that everything was okay, that he was just an idiot and got lost in the woods, and it was nothing serious.

  
_‘I’ll find my way back.’_

  
Each step he took was rough, yet determined.

  
_‘I’m sure it’s nothing serious_. . . _’_

  
He continued to walk, hands still in his pockets.

  
_‘I’m just an idiot and got lost on my way home_. . _.Sis is going to be pissed.’_

  
Listening to his own mantra in his head he followed the now twisting path. It was getting stepper as he climbed and Tanaka took his hands out of his pockets to stabilize himself. He was sure if it wasn’t for the constant cardio he did at practice he would have been out of breath. The path started to even out and up ahead Tanaka could see that it was turning a sharp corner, the rest of the path blocked by the abundance of trees.

  
Tanaka got to the top of the incline then stopped dead in his tracks at what he saw. Sleeping on a bench a foot away was Ennoshita Chikara, one hand resting on his stomach and the other hanging limply, hand brushing the ground. He was wearing the standard practice attire, black shorts, and a white t-shirt, and his face, neck, and arms covered in band-aids. His normally neat hair was slightly disheveled and his face was pressed against the wood of the bench seat.

  
Tanaka paused only a moment before he took the few steps so that he was close to Ennoshita. Bending down he shook Ennoshita's shoulder, almost too hard, “Hey! Ennoshita, bro, wake up!”

  
Ennoshita’s face scrunched at the sudden noise, his head moving away from Tanaka, “Calm down, you’re too loud.”

  
Tanaka grunted indignantly, it almost coming out as a growl.

  
Ennoshita sighed, turning back to the other boy and opening his eyes. He stared at Tanaka for a moment before he sat up. He looked around at his surroundings before turning back to the other boy, “Where are we?”

  
Tanaka made a face and Ennoshita was unimpressed. He leaned back on the bench, looking at Tanaka with slight disappointment, “What did you do?”

  
Tanaka took on a more intimidating and intense look, “Huh!? Why the hell would you assume this is my fault!”

  
Ennoshita eyed him for a moment before getting to his feet, brushing off the dust that had clung to his clothes and fixing his hair, "I know you too well.”

  
Tanaka’s eye twitched, "You wanna fight!?!”

  
Ennoshita, nonplussed, started to walk away, heading down the path. Tanaka grumbled as he hurried to catch up with the other. Once Tanaka was beside him and keeping pace Ennoshita spoke up, “What happened? Really.”

  
Tanaka looked away from Ennoshita's questioning look, stuffing his hands in his pockets again, posture less than acceptable, “I don’t know.”

  
Ennoshita nodded after a few beats and turned away, ending the conversation. It wasn’t an awkward or uncomfortable silence. If anything the company was nice compared to when he was alone. Tanaka glanced over to the other and he could see under the reservation he usually showed was a small frown.

  
_'He’s worried.'_

  
Tanaka looked away.

  
This brought Tanaka back to his previous thoughts. Where the hell they? If Ennoshita was here did that mean the others were as well? What could that mean? If anything happened to his precious kouhai _._ . . to Hinata. . . to Yamaguchi. . .Kageyama. . . even Shittyshima. . .

  
. . .

  
“I’m sure everything’s fine.”

  
Tanaka looked up as Ennoshita put a hand on his shoulder, not quite comforting but it was a firm and solid presence. Tanaka didn’t say anything right away, his eyes looking from Ennoshita to his hand and back, “Yeah.”

  
They continued on in silence and the hand stayed there for sometime before it almost reluctantly slid down and off Tanaka’s shoulder, brushing his wrist before landing back at Ennoshita’s side.  
The path formed into a zig-zag pattern that led further upward. At the top, the two could see that it lead to an overlook. Maybe that could help them finger out where they were. Tanaka tripped on a rock that was jutting out of the ground and fell face first, ripping the side of his pants, and taking Ennoshita down with him in the process. They untangled themselves and moved on, both deciding not to mention what just happened.

  
Once they reached the top Tanaka gripped the handrails that protected anyone from falling and stared on. Outstretched before him was miles of greenery. Most of it was gentle hills compared to where they were but all of it leads to a huge expanse of water that glinted in the sun, large rocks sprinkled in to disrupt the flow. A long line of sand separated the green from the blue and it stretched on for what must have been miles before turning and disappearing behind more land. Tanaka turned to the left and saw that it was almost the same view.

  
But with one major difference.

  
Near the beach was a building that Tanaka assumed was some kind of hotel. He could make out a parking lot and a road that disappeared behind the mountain. The 'hotel' also seemed to have some room in the back. Tanaka couldn’t tell what was there exactly but it was a fairly large area with a few blotches of gray dotted in the green. The trail they were on seemed to be turning towards the building, sloping down the mountain and disappearing into more trees.

  
Both of them stood there, not really able to comprehend what they were seeing. Tanaka was the first to speak turning to Ennoshita, “Do you. . . know where we are?”

  
Ennoshita’s eyes were uncharacteristically wide, “No.”

  
“Shit.” Tanaka gripped the handrail harder.

  
This wasn’t good, not at all.

  
“I think. . .we’re not in Sendai anymore,” Ennoshita let go of the handrails and took a shaky step back. He gestured to the nearest tree,” I was thinking on the way up here that I didn’t recognize any of the plants.None of this looks familiar at all. If I had to guess. . . I’d say we somehow were dropped off here by someone. I don’t know how but. . .”

  
Ennoshita sighed, breath coming out unevenly through his lips.

  
Tanka’s brain was in overdrive. He was having trouble truly processing the information. He was lost, that was for certain, but it was worse than he thought. This wasn’t just him being an idiot and walking through the forest near his house and getting turned around. No, this was something bigger. He had no idea where he and Ennoshita were. And it might not just be them either. The others could be here, stuck just like they were. Or even worse. . . . If anything happened to his teammates, Tanaka shook his head. Was his sister looking for him? Was she worried that he never made it home? Had he even made it to Ukai’s shop in the first place?

  
Ennoshita was talking and Tanaka was barely able to listen, catching on after a few sentences,” . . . the best bet would be probably going to that hotel. Maybe they’ll have a phone or a map we can use.”

  
Tanaka's face morphed, and he unclenched his aching hands from the handrail. He spun on his heels and aggressively kicked up dirt as he stomped toward the trail, “Alright! Let’s go! We’re getting the hell out of here!”

  
Ennoshita blinked, startled before he smirked. He jogged to catch up with his now fired up teammate.

  
“There’s the Tanaka I know.”

  
Tanaka took the path much faster than he should, sliding and losing his balance in some areas. It was all downhill, not in sharp, abrupt zigzags but more straight with gentle curves. Ennoshita fought to catch up to him, losing sight of the other many times. Starting to get out of breath Ennoshita slowed down yelling out to Tanaka,” Hey, slow down!”

  
Tanaka glanced back at him before sliding to a stop, almost falling in the process, a little bit out of breath. Ennoshita fell into step beside him. They started again at a much slower pace, the urgency still there but less potent. The trail is a long one but they continued to walk as the sun moved through the sky. Once in a while, they would be able to see their progress, the building getting closer and closer with each peek they were able to get.

  
They finally reach the bottom and the trail straightens out for a long time before it splits into two branching paths. They take the left path and after a few minutes, Ennoshita hears it:

  
A low murmuring coming from his right, away from the path and in the trees.

  
He stops and puts his hand up to stop Tanaka, “Do you hear that? It sounds like someone talking.”

  
“Hmm?” Tanaka stops walking and he hears it too. They look at each other and Tanaka takes the lead, stepping past Ennoshita and off the path. He shuffles past some trees and finds a much smaller path, maybe made by an animal. He follows it and the talking gets louder.

  
“. . . and get five points.”

  
The voice is familiar and Tanaka speeds up. He knows who it is and he has to see him.

  
“That’s great, Yamaguchi!”

  
The second voice throws him off for only a second. He recognizes the other person as well. ' _He's here too? How many of us are here? At least Yamaguchi isn’t alone. . . '_

  
Tanaka's relieved.

  
“Thank you. . . .”

  
“You’re welcome. . . now if someone would work on his receives. . .”

  
Tanaka almost flings himself through the trees, Ennoshita right behind him, “Yes! Look Ennoshita! Look, there are people over there! Woo!

  
Sitting on the ground in front of him where Yaku, Lev, and Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi jumps at his entrance, startled and eyes wide. They're caked in dirt but they looked relatively okay. Except for Yaku, who had his leg bandaged up, sitting uncomfortably against a tree.

  
Tadashi is on his feet when Ennoshita and Tanaka get closer,” Tanaka-senpai! Ennoshita-senpai!”

  
Yamaguchi looks so relieved to see them. His face stretching into a happy smile and Tanaka can’t help but smirk back at his kouhai. He grabs Yamaguchi in a side hug and ruffles his hair. The other takes it without any complaint and Tanaka can’t help but be selfishly happy to see the other despite the situation,” Yamaguchi! I’m so glad to see you!”

  
And as Tanaka hugged him, his fingers shuffling Yamaguchi’s hair back a forth, he makes a vow to himself. A vow to be strong for him. He wasn’t going to show fear no matter how rough or dangerous the situation becomes. He had to be the bigger person and help however he can. He wouldn’t let Yamaguchi feel the slightest bit scared. And if the others were there too, somewhere, he would do the same for them.

  
Because Tanaka Ryuunosuke was a good Senpai.

  
And no one can change that fact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! I've started going to college and it's been a crazy few weeks. I'm so happy for the support I have been getting for this story. I'm so glad you guys like it. Also, if you want you can find this story on Tumblr at http://narutolovesramen87.tumblr.com under #empoweredfic  
> You are to free to ask me anything.  
> I've also gone back to previous chapters and touched them up a bit.  
> Comments and Kudos' are appreciated!  
> Thanks, guys.


	5. Chapter 4

Tsukishima Kei woke up feeling warm but also uncomfortable. His body was lying on something hard and it dug harshly into his side. He had his arms wrapped around something soft and he instinctively shuffled closer, assuming that it was his pillow. He could hear the wind and he wondered if his brother had opened his window last night without telling him. He breathed, his brain foggy and light, not wanting to open his eyes just yet.

In and out.

In.

In.

Tsukishima furrowed his brow.

Out.

Out.

. . .

_Wait._

Tsukishima's eyes snapped open and he looked down at what he thought was his pillow but in actuality, it was much worse. Snuggling into the crook of his arm was a boy that Tsukishima wished he didn’t know so well. He was wearing black shorts and a bright red t-shirt. Tsukishima couldn’t see what was on it but he was sure it had an annoying phrase plastered in big letters on the back. The boy was much shorter than Tsukishima and his normally spiked hair was losing its volume, some of it lying flat against his face, the dyed blonde clump at the front deflated and sad.

Tsukishima had regrettably snuggled up to one Nishinoya Yuu.

Appalled, Tsukishima quickly pushed Noya away, flinging his arms and legs in an almost comical panic. Noya flopped onto the floor beside him and groaned, blinking his eyes open. Tsukishima went to push up his glasses as if to compose himself to only realize they weren't on his face. Feeling around with his hands as Nishinoya started to sit up he found his glasses lying on the ground a couple feet away. He snatched them up and put them on his nose. He was irritated to find out that they had a crack on the right lens, frustratingly in the corner of his vision.

He eyed Noya as the other stretched obnoxiously, his hands going up and his back arching. Noya looked around, his eyebrows shooting up at their surroundings, before spotting Tsukishima. He blinked a few times before he opened his mouth, much to Tsukki’s distaste, “Where are we?”

Where indeed. Tsukishima’s eyes wandered away from Noya’s questioning gaze. Both of them were sitting a few feet apart on a poorly crafted wood floor, some planks severely out of place or at an odd angle. The walls were close together, maybe enough room for both of them to stand and stretch out their arms from end to end. The walls were also made of the same material as the floor and a badly cut out window stood at waist height, showing off blue sky; a few clouds sprinkled in. Just in front of them stood a doorway that went to open air. Outside Tsukishima could see the tops of trees, leaves swaying in the wind. Nailed down at the entrance was a rope ladder, clumsily rolled up and tossed to the side as if someone was in a hurry.

If Tsukishima had to guess he would say they were in a treehouse.

Nishinoya’s on his feet and at the doorway before Tsukishima can react, whistling with an impressed expression, “Whoa. . . We’re really high up,” He turned back to Tsukki and smiled, overly bright, “I have no idea where we are right now.”

If Tsukishima’s eye twitched, Noya didn’t comment on it.

Sighing, Tsukishima got to his feet, noticing as he walked over to the shorter boy that he was wearing a white long-sleeved sweater and dark blue sweatpants. On his feet were plain white socks, one of them getting caught on a loose nail, almost tripping him as he came into step beside Noya.

He looked above Nishinoya, which wasn’t hard, and looked out across the landscape. They were in what he had correctly guessed was a tree house situated at the edge of a clearing. Past a line of trees, Tsukishima could see a steady slope of green topped trees going down to sand before spreading out into a vast amount of water. On the beach, far below, was one lonely dock along with what looked like a shack. Maybe for fishing? Looking down he saw that there were a few benches and a trail leading away from the treehouse, disappearing into the mass of trees.

He hated that he had to agree with Nishinoya but he didn’t know where they were either. He didn’t panic though, there had to be a logical explanation for how he got here and he wouldn’t figure anything out if he let his mind devolve into such thoughts. Pushing up his broken glasses he stepped back, accidentally moving in sync with Noya.

Nishinoya turned around with hands on his hips, “Well! This is strange.”

Tsukishima felt a headache coming on and he’s only been with this idiot for a couple minutes.

Noya continued, not losing any of his spirit, “Hmm, guess the next step is to get down, right Tsukishima!”

He clapped Tsukki hard on the back before walking past him and grabbing the rope ladder. Tsukishima scowled at the touch, stepping away from him in annoyance. He watched as Nishinoya untangled the ladder before hurling the massive clump of rope into the air and over the side. It twisted and swayed before coming to a stop, only moving slightly because of light gusts of wind.

“Alright! I’ll-”

“You’re too loud.”

“- go first! Because, as I am the greatest of senpai’s, I should be the one to go first in dangerous situations. Even if it’s you, Tsukishima!”

Not knowing whether or not to scowl at the implied insult, Tsukishima watched as Noya gripped the edges of the doorway, turning to the side. Stretching out one leg he found purchase on the first rung of the ladder before slowly making the other leg descend to the next one, his back now facing a large drop. Lowering himself more, his hands gripped the doorway as the slid slowly down for them to rest on the lip of the floor that jutted out a bit like a small porch. Taking another step down he lowered his hands until they were on the ladder as well. He looked up at Tsukishima, “See, now I’ll catch you if you fall!”

Tsukishima doubted that he would need the help.

Noya started to climb down and Tsukishima positioned himself to do the same. The ladder was a little jerky because of the wind and both of them climbing on it but Tsukishima wasn’t afraid of heights so it didn’t really matter to him. Focusing mostly on climbing he didn’t really look anywhere else but in front of him; inch by inch the tree getting thicker as he progressed downward. His feet hurt a bit because of the lack of shoes but he pushed through it.

Once at the bottom Noya jumped off, grabbing the ladder to stabilize it better for Tsukishima, before he too stepped down onto solid ground. Tsukishima only watched as Nishinoya took on an almost too excited expression, “Alright!!”

Tsukishima turned and walked away without acknowledging Noya’s yell of victory. He really wished he had his headphones. He was about three steps away from the start of the trail before Noya graced him with his voice once more,” Oh! Look what I found! Oi, Tsukishima stop ignoring me and look! I think this is yours.”

Tsukki stopped walking, moving his neck so that only his head turned to face the other, he saw Nishinoya bounding over before coming to a stop beside him. Tsukishima’s eyes followed the movement as Noya flung his arms up in the air, two school bags hanging from his hands loosely. Tsukishima spotted his right away, the bright red catching his eye. He reached out and quickly snatched it from Nishinoya's hand.

“Geez, if you wanted it that bad you could have just asked,” Noya pouted, looking away before he went to investigate his own bag.

Tsukishima ignored him in favor of balancing his bag on his arm and zipping it open. He dug around pushing everything from side to side. Inside was a change of clothes that came with a pair of shoes that he put aside to put on later, his headphones (though Tsukki noted with distaste that they seemed to be broken, the left earpiece at an odd angle), his water bottle he used for practice that was only half full, and-

The lenses of Tsukishima’s glasses flared, blocking his eyes from view as he quickly zipped up his bag with one swift motion, a small frown on his face.

Inside was one of his prized possessions.

“Hey,” Noya said popping out of nowhere behind Tsukishima making him jump away slightly and pulling the bag closer to his body as if to hide it; to protect it, “Was that what I think it is?”

Tsukishima stayed suspiciously silent.

Noya smiled, way too wide for Tsukishima’s liking, “I think it’s cool that you carry around a dinosaur plushie in your school bag! I wouldn’t guess that you were that type of guy Tsukishima!”

Tsukishima Kei felt like his soul just died. He played it off nicely though, throwing his bag over his shoulder and walking (not to quick but just right) away, grabbing his shoes off the ground so that they hung from his fingers loosely, “Whatever.”

Noya quickly caught up, bouncing on the balls of his feet, ‘Don’t be like that Tsukishima! As your senpai, I can tell you that this is perfectly normal!”

Tsukishima hated how he exaggerated the _‘per’_ of perfect for far too long.

Noya speed up so he was in front of Tsukishima, walking backward, “If you want I can tell you what Tanaka usually has in his bag that’s embarrassing-”

“Not interested.”

“How ‘bout Asahi?”

“No.”

Nishinoya put his hand on his chin, “I could tell you that Kageyama always has a really large collection of yogurt and milk in his bag every day!”

Tsukishima Kei sighed.

This was going to be a long day.

**XX**

“Haha! Well, hello there!”

Azumane Asahi slowly came out of his unconscious state to the sound of someone shouting. He recognized the voice from somewhere but he didn’t want to open his eyes to find out who it was. He was too comfortable, wrapped up in something, probably a warm blanket. Though Asahi admitted timidly even in his own head, the bed and pillow could be better, all lumpy and uneven.

“Aren't you cute!”

Asahi shifted slightly, sleepy blinking one eye open. His vision was blurry and everything was way too bright so he closed it again and listened to the conversation as it continued:

“. . . Strange right! I have no idea how I got here! I woke up with my friend over there, asleep next to me. . . ,” There was a pause as if the person was trying to figure out what to say, “Yeah, I couldn’t just leave him here, it wouldn’t be right.”

Asahi decided to try again to open his eyes, blinking them rapidly to get rid of the sleep that wanted to linger. Once his eyes adjusted he saw blue sky, a cloud gracefully moving across it slowly.

Had he fallen asleep outside?

Placing his hands down, feeling grass spread out with his fingers, he pushed himself up into a sitting position. The blanket that was keeping him warm, blocking him from the slight breeze, falling down into his lap. It was light blue and had cartoon owls stitched on, the pattern seemingly random.

He looked up from the blanket, already slightly confused and had a mini heart attack. He was sitting a clearing surrounded by trees, tall and thick enough that he couldn’t see out further past than a few feet. He could see a dirt path running beside the clearing before moving on out of sight. Nothing around him was familiar, not at all. Not the trees. Not the flowers. Not even the path’s handrails lining the edges. He left like he was grasping at straws at this point.

_Where am I!?_

”I’m so glad that you came, I was getting lonely sitting here by myself! Haha!”

Remembering that there was actually someone else here with him he quickly turned his head to see who it was. Across the clearing sat a boy wearing a dark blue t-shirt and Owl pajama pants, his feet covered in comfortable looking slippers. His usually spiked hair was lying down on his head, the hair’s coloring of black and greyish-white unevenly distributed across his head. Beside him, resting on a large log, was a bird that Asahi didn’t recognize. The boy stopped his excited rambling to the animal, tilting his head. Pausing for only a second he whipping his head around to face Asahi.

The boy smiled wide,” Hey hey hey! You’re awake!”

Asahi didn’t know whether to feel relieved or confused by the realization that Bokuto Koutarou, the captain of the Fukurodani volleyball team, was with him. In a strange clearing. In the middle of nowhere. Talking to a bird while in owl pajamas. . .

“Hey!” Asashi could only stare as Bokuto made his way over to him looking happy but also a bit worried, “I’m glad you’re awake, you were asleep for a long time!”

Asahi blinked, “Wha. . .”

Bokuto plowed on, not sensing Asahi’s discomfort and confusion, “Yep! It’s probably been a few hours since I woke up. Our, or at least I’m assuming that is yours-” Bokuto crouched down and pointed at a bag sitting next to Asahi, “-school bags were lying over by that log. You seemed cold so I let you borrow that blanket but I’ll take it back, it was was a gift from Keiji. Hey! You doin’ okay?”

Asahi tried to keep up with Bokuto, he really did, but it only made his more panicky and disoriented,” What-”

Suddenly there was a water bottle pushed against his cheek, squishing the last of his sentence out as an awkward,“ Ompf!”

“Here, this might help!” Bokuto smiled wide.

Asahi took the bottle in a daze, his brain shutting down and deciding to just drink the water. As he felt the refreshing liquid slid across his tongue and down his throat he listened to Bokuto talk, the other flopping onto his back and stretching out, "Phew! It’s been a long day. First practice them suddenly waking up here with you! It’s so strange, I don’t remember ever coming here in the first place, weird right?”

Asahi nodded absentmindedly.

“I mean I would right? Well, there was that one time me and Kuroo got in that bind but I don’t think that this is like that one time. Man, that was crazy! What ‘bout you, you got any idea what’s going on?”

Asahi swallowed and pulled the bottle away from his lips. He still felt jittery but Bokuto’s constant talking seemed to help, at least a bit, to distract him, “N-no.”

“Hmm, too bad.”

Asahi waited for the other to continue but he just stared up at the clouds, his face soft and palpable. Asahi wondered how he could be so calm. They were in the middle of nowhere, or at least Asahi assumed they were. Was this a normal occurrence for him?

“Um. . .” Asahi shifted and his hair fell into his eyes, “Aren’t you worried?”

Bokuto turned his head to face him, “Well, yeah. But it’s no use freaking out about it. I’m sure everything will work out fine.”

As Asahi stared into Bokuto’s naturally wide eyes he wished that he could feel that way about the situation. Noya had told him recently that he was getting better at being less timid but still. . .

After a while Bokuto sat up and turned to face Asahi, crossing his legs. He reached out with his arm and Asahi watched as his arm goes behind Asahi only to come back full handed. Gripped in his fingers is a Fukurodani volleyball jacket. It was covered in grass stains and flecks of dirt but Bokuto didn’t seem to mind as he shoved his arms into the sleeves, “Now that you're not using this as a pillow I take it back now! Haha!”

“Oh, here!” Asahi said as he quickly gathered up the owl blanket that was still keeping his legs warm, remember what Bokuto said about it being a gift. As Bokuto loudly thanked him Asahi shivered slightly, his legs now exposed to the breeze. He was wearing his black shorts and white shirt that he wore to practice and on his feet were his worn out volleyball shoes.

Bokuto very gently folded the blanket before setting the bundle on his lap. He reached behind him and swung his school bag around so that it was at his front. He unzipped it and put the blanket securely inside. Asahi noticed that there was an owl keychain fastened to the ring holding the strap in place and Asahi honestly wasn’t surprised.  
Asahi turned to look at his school bag. He reached out and pulled it closer to him and opened it up to see what was inside. Digging through it he found a change of clothes, a few books, a couple water bottles, and an unopened package of hair ties. Aware of his long hair brushing his nose he opened the package and pulled his hair up into a loose bun. It wasn’t the best he could do but it worked at keeping the hair out of his face.

“Well then! I guess it’s time to get moving!”

Asahi turned to Bokuto just in time to see him swing himself up onto his feet and extend his hand out for Asahi to grab. Asahi blinked before taking the hand offered to him and getting to his feet himself. Bokuto started to march away,” Let’s get going!”

Asahi panicked and started to follow him before he quickly backtracked to grab the school bag that he abandoned on the ground, slinging it over his shoulder. The strap dug into his neck and Asahi tried to adjust it as he jogged to catch up to Bokuto, "Wait!”

Bokuto just laughed merrily as he grabbed the trails handrail and ducking under it, almost losing his slipper in the process. Asahi did the same but less quickly and Bokuto waited for him. Bokuto didn’t wait very long once Asahi was on the trail with him. He chose a random direction and energetically headed that direction as Asahi timidly followed behind.

They walk for a while, the path alternating between being uphill, and a straight away. It wasn’t hard by any means and Asahi thought that if he knew where he was it would be a relaxing hike, instead of one that wanted to cause him ever growing anxiety the longer he kicked up dust. The conversation they had as he walked was mostly one-sided with Bokuto taking the lead and Asahi didn’t really mind.

It was a good distraction.

So Asahi just listened.

“Akaashi knows that I. . .”

Asahi took in the breeze and the sound his shoes made as they scuffed in the dirt. Everything around him was beautiful but he was too anxious to really appreciate it. Bokuto continued to talk in the background and Asahi tried to keep up with what he was saying. He would go on weird tangents every now again as if he was talking to another person altogether but Asahi assumed it was his outspoken and childish personality and nothing more.

“. . . and Kuroo was all like ‘Kenma is better’ and I was like ‘ no way, bro, Akaashi is’ and he said. . .”

They round yet another bend in the path and Asahi wondered how long they have been walking. It had to be an hour at least.

“. . . it was crazy! Akaashi was upset with me afterward though.”

Asahi hummed,“Seems like you to have a good relationship with Akaashi-kun.”

Bokuto’s eyes lite up and Asahi wondered what he just got himself into by saying what he did,” Akaashi is everything!”

Asahi blinked, "What?”

Bokuto leaned in close his face splitting into a loving smile, “I wouldn’t want to go a day without seeing my beautiful, quiet,  
and amazing setter!”

“Wait-,”Asahi’s eyes widened, “Wait a second-”

Bokuto jumped into the air, “He’s beautiful, isn’t he! I’m so fortunate to be dating him! Haha!!”

“Wait, you guys are dating?”

Bokuto stopped and stared at Asahi, his eyes sharp, and too serious, "Yes. Is there something wrong with that?”

Asahi flung his arms in all directions,” N-no! I didn’t mean it like that! I-I just-”

Bokuto leaned back and laughed, hardy and long, before bringing himself forward with his hands on his hips, “Hey hey hey now! No need to be so freaked out! And yes I’m dating my perfect Keiji!”

“O-oh, well c-congratulations t-then,” Asahi wobbled, his eyes wide and face ashen as if he saw a ghost.

Bokuto slapped Asahi on the back, hard, sending the poor man stumbling forward a few steps, “Thanks!”

“Uh, haha. . .” Asahi could only laugh nervously, shell-shocked. Bokuto continued on as if nothing happened and Asahi just followed, deciding not to say anything else for now on.

Just in case.

And so Asahi went back to listening to Bokuto Koutarou talk with the conversation having no end in sight.

**XX**

Asahi perked up at the sound of rushing water, "Hey, do you hear that?”

Bokuto nodded,” Sure do!”

And as if the water wanted to make itself known they turned to corner and saw the source of the sound. In front of them was a beautiful waterfall. The trail had come to the stop, two benches situated on either side and to the right was a little overlook, covered in a light mist from the waterfall, dampening the rails and dirt. The waterfall wasn’t too tall but had three separate drops that zigzagged each other. To the left was a set of cement stairs that led to another dirt trail that followed the flow of the water before curving with a hill and crossing the river. To get to the other side and another small viewing platform for the waterfall, you had to cross a wooden bridge that was about ten feet above the water. 

“Whoa!” Bokuto yelled as he rushed over to the rock wall and leaned over the side. 

Asahi quickly followed, his hands up as if in preparation to grab the other if he fell, “H-hey, be careful!”

Bokuto leaned back and whistled, “Man, this is amazing! Wish Akaashi was here to see this! He likes quiet places, I’m sure would love it here!”

“I’m sure,” Asahi chuckled, lowering his hands. Asahi eyed Bokuto’s slippers and noticed that they were starting to get damp,” H-hey maybe you should. . .”

Bokuto was already bonding down the stairs before Asahi could finish, his coat flowing in the wind. Asahi sighed and followed him. Bokuto was at the top of the hill and across the bridge when Asahi got to the top himself. Bokuto waved from the other side,” Hey hey hey! C’mon!”

Asahi took one last look at the waterfall before taking a slow step forward. The bridge was kind of old and didn't have any kind of safety rail or rope so Asahi tried to step carefully as he crossed. Below him, the water was quite deep and the current seemed to start to pick up speed at that point in the river. Every step Asahi took the bridge creaked, making him jump and hesitate to move. It didn’t help that the bridge was damp from the mist that traveled steadily away from the waterfall. Bokuto waited on the other side of the bridge, uncharacteristically patient with his hands on his hips.

Asahi felt bad for making the other wait so he tried to hurry his steps a bit. And that was his fatal mistake. In the next few steps, the wood had caved in a bit and water had started to pool in several places. Asahi tried to avoid these spots but as he did he tripped on one of the wood planks that was higher than the others. He lost his balance, his body falling backward and sideways and he spun. Up was down and down was up and before Asahi could really process what happened he was taking in water, and he was suddenly being pushed unwillingly to the side.

In his panic he tried to swim up, having realized that he had fallen off the bridge and was now in the river. He reached the surface, his arms flailing as he tried to take a breath. He could hear Bokuto shouting but the words were washed away as Asahi was pulled under the water again. He tried to hold is breath and swim with the current but at this point, he didn’t know which way was up, let alone were the bank of the river was.

Out of luck, he broke the surface again. His vision was a mass of green and blue water, mixing together is a mosaic of colors and he tried to see where he was in the mass of confusion and panic filling his brain.

“Asahi! Oh my god!”

“Azumane-san!”

Someone was shouting and Asahi felt like he was must be losing his consciousness from lack of air. He had to be his falling into a dream-like state to suddenly hear Noya, of all people mixed in with Bokuto’s frantic yelling.

Right?

Suddenly his school bag, which had miraculously stayed on in the struggle to swim, tugged at his neck, his airways closing up even more. Asahi choked and gasped as he was pulled back and onto dry land. He coughed and brought his hands up to his mouth. He didn't register the hands taking off his school bag at first or the fact that someone was sitting him up and clapping their hand on his back. Or the fact that someone, after he recovered his breath, had latched their arms around his middle in a hug, “Oh, thank god.”

Water dripped from his hair and into his eyes as he just breathed, his eyes wide. He blinked to get the water out of his eyes and finally looked up to see Bokuto was kneeling down beside him, his face worried, "Hey, are you okay now?”

It took awhile for Asahi to process the words, his eyes glued to another person next to Bokuto. They were breathing hard, their clothes completely soaked along with Bokuto. His blonde hair was plastered to his forehead because of the water, "Tsukishima. . .?”

Tsukishima Kei nodded and leaned closer to Asahi, his eyes scanning him up and down as if taking in any injuries. Asahi felt something move in his lap and he looked down at what had him in a vise-like grip. The person in his lap was small in comparison to him, his dark hair waterlogged and dripping. The person took a breath before leaning back and looking up at Asahi, a small piece of blonde hair sticking to his forehead.

Nishinoya Yuu stared at him for a long time and Asahi let him. It was surreal and Asahi had to admit that he felt like he must be hallucinating. And as Asahi sat there the three other people there with him stared at him as well, each showing varying degrees of worry and relief. Slowly the bubble that had formed in the silence was popped as Noya slowly crawled off Asahi to sit next to him,” Are you okay?”

All Asahi could do was nod.

“Thank god!” Bokuto yelled falling onto his back and spreading his arms and legs dramatically. Asahi noticed that his slippers were missing. Tsukishima eyed Bokuto with a scowl before moving his line of sight back to Asahi and saying begrudgingly, “I’m glad.”

Asahi smiled shakily because coming from Tsukishima that remark meant a lot. Asahi turned to look at Nishinoya. Noya was looking at the ground before he turns his eyes on Asahi, his smile big and bright, “I glad you’re okay!”

Asahi wondered if Noya was trying to hide his obvious worry with that smile, for his sake.

. . .

Asahi Azumane smiled back for Noya, a little wobbly but genuine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want you can find this story on Tumblr at https://kiribiri87.tumblr.com under #empoweredfic  
> You are to free to ask me anything.  
> Comments and Kudos' are appreciated!  
> Thanks, guys.


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When it has been a while and you feel guilty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took so long! I lot of stuff came up in my life (full explanation at the bottom) and I wasn't able to write. I hope you enjoy the chapter anyway.

Yahaba Shigeru’s eyes snapped open, his body flailing sideways to get away from the water that shocked him awake; sliding until he was submerged in more. It entered his nose and mouth and he trashed before he came up for air, crawling forward until he felt his hands touch different terrain, the ground grainy and sliding through his fingers. He blinked the water out of his eyes and sat up. The taste of salt invaded his mouth and he coughed, swiping his wet hair off his forehead.

His clothes clung to him and his eyes burned from the salt. He blinked desperately to stop the sting. As his vision cleared he was able to see a wall of water heading in his direction. Yahaba scrambled away as the water followed him up the beach, stopping when he was sure that the water wouldn’t reach him. Letting out a breath of air Yahaba couldn’t help but just stare ahead of him, his brain taking a while to processes what he was seeing.

  
He watched as waves traveled up and down the beach, getting dispersed because of a flat rock spitting the flow in two directions on either side before coming to a stop a few feet in front of him. The tide was high enough that some of the water flew upwards when it came in contact with the rock, splashing the surface and coating it in foam. Looking to the left, then the right, he saw that the beach was lined with similar rocks until it abruptly switched back to sand. In the distance to his right, he could barely make out a lighthouse.

  
Sitting with his legs out in front of him he let his hands fall between his thighs to land on the slightly soggy ground. His eyes followed a drip of water down his hand, blinking when it hit the sand under him.

  
_What’s going on?_

  
He had no idea how he got there. He remembered going to practice, leaving, but then nothing else. It was as if he was watching a show in his head but the signal was interrupted, the image grainy. Did he ever make it home? Did he. . . even leave the school? It was hard to tell really and what he was wearing didn’t help him remember.

  
He was wearing his now soaking wet Aobajousai tracksuit, the jacket unzipped showing a light blue shirt underneath. His arms had a few scrapes and bruises and his fingers on his left hand were bandaged tightly. Did he hurt his hand in practice? He was sure he didn’t. He was wearing only one shoe, a blue sneaker, and his other foot donned a wet sock. Looking up Yahaba could see the missing shoe. It was sloshing back and forth with the tide. It must have come off in his mad crawl to get out of the water.

  
Yahaba got to his feet and waded into the ankle deep water, cringing. Once he got to his other sneaker he bent down and grabbed it, swinging it side to side as if that would help dry it faster. Marching onto dry sand he decided that the shoe wasn’t worth wearing so he took off his other shoe, then his socks. Stuffing the damps socks into his sneakers for safekeeping he let them dangle by the laces, his hand grasping the other end.

  
_Now, what should I do?_

  
Yahaba was honestly at a loss so he just started walking down the beach. As he walked something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Turning away from the ocean he saw what had his interest. Dangling from a tree branch a few feet in front of him was a school bag.

  
His school bag.

  
Tilting his head, he made his way over to his bag. It swayed with the wind and Yahaba grabbed the strap, stopping its momentum. Sliding the bag off the branch he sat down and zipped it open, his volleyball keychain jingling. Inside was a change of clothes, which Yahaba was grateful for because that meant that he could change out of his wet ones, a water bottle, a few snacks, some school books and finally his phone.

  
Hopeful, Yahaba dug the phone out of his bag and turned it on. It took a bit for it to boot up but when it finally showed his lock screen Yahaba could help but sigh in both exasperation and disappointment.

  
No Signal.

  
_Figures._

  
Yahaba knew he shouldn’t have got his hopes up. Sighing he stuffed the useless phone back in the bag and pulled out the change of clothes. Stripping down he placed his wet clothes on the branch to dry. The wind made him shiver but he continued pulling on a pair of jeans and a red shirt. Leaving his shoes off and now donning new and dry clothes Yahaba rolled up his wet clothes into a tight bundle, wincing as he put them in his bag, internally saying sorry to his phone and the books that were inevitably going to get soaked. He sipped up the bag and threw it over his shoulder.

  
Standing there for a moment Yahaba turned his head back and forth, trying to decide if he should continue walking or turn back to where he came. He shrugged and decided to continue walking. Yahaba watched as the waves traveled up and down the beach, and his body slowly but surely started to walk closer and closer until he was wading through ankle deep water. It felt nice. The sun shone down on his face and Yahaba shielded his eyes with his hand, squinting. A bird flew overhead and the wind made the trees sway slightly.

  
He breathed in the salt-soaked air, in through his nose and out of his mouth. The water was unbelievably blue and Yahaba couldn’t help feeling like the sight was pretty, if not beautiful. It was peaceful despite knowing that he shouldn’t be there in the first place. He decided that since he was there any way he might as well enjoy it right?

  
And so Yahaba did, looking anywhere and everywhere, taking in everything he could. His feet were covered in wet sand but he didn’t mind it. The bottom of his pants had gotten wet because he didn’t have the oversight to roll them up when he instinctively started to play in the water. Looking down he watched the water go over his feet with each step.

  
After a while, he looked up and something caught his attention, ways down the beach was a huge mound of sand, so big that Yahaba knew that it had to be man-made. Picking up his pace at the sight Yahaba started to jog, his feet sinking into the sand and giving him a hard time. As he got closer he could see something yellow, sticking out of the top of the mound. Once he finally saw what was there. . . .

  
. . . he burst out laughing, his hand flying up to his mouth to try to hold it in. Something grunted in front of him and Yahaba laughed harder. Buried up to his head in the sand were a very angry Kyoutani Kentarou, his checks, and hair covered in a generous amount of sand. Kyoutani lips formed a scowl that Yahaba couldn’t help but laugh at, "Pfft, Kyoutani. . . What. . .haha. . . happened?”

  
Kyoutani glared at Yahaba, holding it for about half a minute before he looked away, his head shifting the sand around him.

“Stuck,” Kyoutani aggressively grumbled.

  
Yahaba sobered up a bit but was having a hard time containing a few giggles,”You’re stuck? How did you get like that, anyway?”

  
Yahaba could swear that what Kyoutani’s face morphed into was a pout, “I was here when I woke up.”

  
Yahaba blinked, gesturing to Kyoutani predicament, "You woke up like _that_?”

  
Kyoutani growled and Yahaba backed up a bit, hands flying up in surrender. They both stared at each other for possibly over a minute before Kyoutani’s nose crinkled and his eyes angled. Kyoutani turned his head away so he wasn’t looking at Yahaba anymore, red tinting his cheeks slightly, “Get me out.”

  
Yahaba smiled, “Am I gonna get a _please_ or. . . .”

  
Kyoutani neither looked at Yahaba or replied.

  
Deciding to take mercy on the poor soul Yahaba started to dig the other out, starting from the top of the pile. After a little while, Kyoutani was able to move his arms and he thrust them out the side of the sand pile, sending sand in all directions, before aggressively pushing himself up and out with a grunt.

  
The momentum sent him backward and Yahaba laughed when he landed on his back, the only thing you could see was his red sneakers peeking out from behind the sand pile. Growling, Kyoutani not so gracefully got to his feet, sliding slightly in the unforgiving sand. He shook his head as if he was a wet dog and sand flew out in a dust cloud around him.

  
Yahaba watched as Kyoutani pulled off his shoes and a waterfall of sand spilled out into a small pile at his feet, _“Wooowww.”_

  
Kyoutani glared at him but didn’t say anything.

  
A small smile appeared on Yahaba’s face, he decided that that was enough teasing for now, he could always tease him later when they got out of this situation, “Okay, I’ll stop.”

  
Kyoutani grunted and Yahaba let him be, walking away but making sure not too far, heading to the treeline. He looked around, glancing back at Kyoutani from time to time. Yahaba watched as Kyoutani pulled off his white shirt and shook it out, grains of sand falling down. Turning around Yahaba yelled, “Hey, do you know what’s going on? How we got here? Do you remember anything?”

  
Kyoutani glanced at him before throwing on his shirt and marching over to Yahaba, his shoes now back on his feet.

  
Kyoutani lets out a grunt, “No.”

  
Blunt, like always.

  
Yahaba adjusted the strap of his back so it hung better on his shoulder. They both stared at each other, be it because they had nothing to say or the awkward silence, they turned away after a while, “Well, uh, maybe we should get moving?”

  
Kyoutani nodded and Yahaba took that as his sign to get going. Brushing past Kyoutani, Yahaba started walking with his companion following close behind. They walked in silence and Yahaba didn’t think it was too stiff, but it was still awkward all the same. He had nothing against the other but Yahaba had to admit that Kyoutani wasn’t much of a talker and, to be honest, neither was Yahaba.  
Sighing Yahaba looked towards the water, watching as waves came in and out, the wind in his hair. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Kyoutani staring at him. Ignoring the look Yahaba continued to watch the waves.

  
In and out.

  
Kyoutani staring.

  
In and out.

  
The breeze in his hair.

  
In and out.

  
The sun on his face.

  
. . . Kyoutani staring. . .

  
In and out.

  
“Hello! Anybody out there?”

  
Yahaba almost jumped out of his skin at the sudden shout, hand flying up to his chest and his feet coming to a stop. Kyoutani seemed to be unfazed, his head turned toward the sound, which was coming from the line of dense trees beside them.

  
“Hello! Anybody! I need help!”

  
Yahaba snapped out of it at the call for help, “We’re here! Where are you?”

  
Kyoutani, who had long ago started moving disappeared into the forest. Yahaba was quick to follow him, not wanting to lose him on accident.

  
“I’m over here!”

  
“We’re coming!” Yahaba shouted back as he almost tripped over a root protruding out of the ground. They both followed the sound of the stranger's voice, going deeper into the forest with each shout. Soon the voice was extremely close and Kyoutani came to a stop, Yahaba running into him and almost falling over.

  
“Why did you stop?”

  
Kyoutani pointed and Yahaba followed his finger to find someone that looked oddly familiar. Hanging from a branch of a tree was a boy, his body wrapped in wire. The wire was connected to a large amount of fabric that was tangled in the tree’s branches. The boys head almost touch the ground, swinging only a couple inches from the grass below him. He was wearing a purple tracksuit and his ash blonde hair, the tips darker than the rest, tangled with leaves and dirt. Lying on the ground near his head was a purple school bag.

  
Yahaba threw off his school bag and pushed past Kyoutani and toward the boy that was trapped, “I’ll help you! Just give me a sec.”

  
The boy nodded the best he could with his restrictions, “Thank you.”

  
“No problem, I’m Yahaba by the way,” Yahaba told the boy as he started to untangle the cords, "Kyoutani! Don’t just stand there! Help me!”

  
Kyoutani grunted but gave in, coming closer to help Yahaba. As Kyoutani unraveled the cords to give them enough room to wiggle the boy out and on the ground, Yahaba gently guided the boy down so that he wouldn’t hit his head. Once free the boy rubbed at the areas that had been held tightly together by the wire. Still sitting down on the ground the boy bowed his head to the other two, “Thank you,” looking back up he continued, “I’m Semi Eita.”

  
Yahaba smiled, “Nice to meet you.”

  
Semi nodded and got to his feet, turning towards the purple bag on the ground, showing his back to the others.

  
Yahaba gasped,” That’s where I know you from! You’re from Shiratorizawa!”

  
Kyoutani growled, “Rival.”

  
Semi, having picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder looked at both of them, “Yes, and you must be from Aobajousai. . . I think. . . even though I don’t remember you much.”

  
Yahaba didn’t know whether to be offended or not.

  
Semi shrugged, his bag almost falling off his shoulder with the movement. Semi reached up to put it back where it was and that’s when Yahaba noticed that his hand and wrist were bandaged, the material wrapped up almost to his elbow, "Hey, you okay?”

  
Semi looked at him before noticing what he was looking at, “I’m fine, it was from practice. . . before I woke up here.”

  
Yahaba stepped closer, “Do you remember anything?”

  
“ Nothing important,” Semi said before walking past where Yahaba and Kyoutani were standing, “Where are we?”

  
“Hey, don’t just walk away,” Yahaba said running to catch up with Semi, grabbing Kyoutani along the way, dragging the other behind him. Kyoutani aggressively pulled Yahaba hand off him, throwing it down, “Get off me!”

  
Yahaba just took it in stride, used to Kyoutani behavior, and caught up with Semi, who was heading back towards the beach from what Yahaba could tell. Yahaba decided to let him keep going, “ From what I can tell we seem to be somewhere near the ocean. I woke up on a beach before I found him,” Yahaba indicated to Kyoutani behind him, "Other than that I know as much as you do.”

  
Semi remains silent for a while, he seemed to be lost in thought, and Yahaba decided to leave him be. Turning to look at Kyoutani, the other had a scowl on his face.

  
After was while the group ended up back on the beach, the wind in their hair and the sun on there faces. They had a brief conversation about what they should do, deciding to follow the beach. Walking along the water, Yahaba went back to letting his feet get wet, splashing in the water while the other two spread out. Kyoutani was about thirty feet behind them and Sami was periodically looking into the forest for something, anything that could help them.

  
Yahaba didn’t know how long they had been walking for when they found the cliffs. It had to be hours now, the sun having sunk lower in the sky. Before the cliffs got too steep there was a trail that made its way up the slope, the side facing the cliffs protected by handrails. Yahaba quickly put on his shoes as the other two started to get up the trail without him.

  
It didn’t take too long to reach the top. Once there they saw that the trail leads to a scenic overlook. Walls made of brick, line the side of the cliff, protecting anyone that wanted to look at the view from falling over the side and getting hurt. The floor was hardwood, but the planks looked weathered from the ocean salt in the air. There was one solidarity bench placed next to the brick wall near another trail that went further into the forest.

  
Everyone went there own separate ways, Semi sitting down on the bench,” This seems like a good place to stop.”

  
Kyoutani didn’t move, his arms crossed tightly across his chest. Yahaba looked at him before shrugging. He took off his school bag and laid it down next to Semi on the bench. Yahaba continued walking to the far side of the brick wall, leaning against it and looking down. Far below was crashing waves and sharp rocks. A little further ahead the cliffs went back to sand.

  
Yahaba moved his gaze upwards and that’s when he saw it. In the distance, so far that it was hard to truly make out, was what looked like a building, or at least the top of one, "Hey, guys!”

  
Semi jolted at the shout, having closed his eyes when he leaned back into the bench, and Kyoutani uncrossed his arms. Semi was the first to speak up though, getting up from where he was sitting and grabbing his bag, "What is it?”

  
“Look over there,” Yahaba said, pointing, "Does that look like a building to you? It's a bit hard to see.”

  
Semi walked over to Yahaba and looked to where Yahaba was pointing, squinting his eyes a bit to try to spot the building as Kyoutani walked up to stand behind them. Finally seeing the building, Semi turned to the other two, "I think it is.”

  
Yahaba beamed, "Well that’s good, right? If we go there we can maybe find some answers,” Yahaba turned to the trail that leads into the woods, “Maybe this goes to that building.”

  
Semi shrugged, "It’s worth a shot.”

  
“Let’s get going then,” Yahaba said as he ran to grab his school bag while the others waited for him. Once the bag was securely on his shoulder Yahaba to one last look at the ocean. The sun was starting to set, coloring the water a faith orange and pink. The water seemed to calm as he stood there. The breeze caressed his face and Yahaba smiled before turning back to the other two. Semi seemed disinterested and Kyoutani seemed a bit annoyed because he had to wait for Yahaba to have his moment.

Yahaba Shigeru didn’t know for sure what was happening to him, why he was in this situation with the other two, but at least the view was beautiful.

  
Be it the sunset or something else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, been a while, hasn't it? I'm sorry that this chapter took so long, and it isn't even that long of a chapter. Stuff was happening in my life that took priority over writing and that might not be a good excuse, but that's what happened. I'll explain:
> 
> I started taking classes at the community college in town so that took up some of my time along with having a full-time job. I had to focus on my studies along with working. I thought I would be able to have time to write after my exams but two things happened after that. 1. my brother got married and 2. my grandpa fell and hit his head and was in the hospital. He had to go in for emergency brain surgery and I didn't look like he was going to make it so my family took time off work to drive over there to see him. The good news is that he's fine and he should make a full recovery but it was still a scare all the same.  
> Those are the main reasons why I hadn't updated this in a long time.   
> But!  
> I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter anyway! All love you've shown this story makes me really happy and I love to read your comments. Thanks again guys for sticking with me this long. Hopefully, the next chapter won't take as long as this one.
> 
> If you want you can find this story on Tumblr at https://kiribiri87.tumblr.com under #empoweredfic  
> You are to free to ask me anything.  
> Comments and Kudos' are appreciated!  
> Thanks, guys.


End file.
